He also is affiliated with the programs in Africana Studies, American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Metropolitan Studies. Ralph is a historical anthropologist who works on crime, citizenship, and sovereignty in Senegal and the Atlantic world, more broadly. Michael is now completing a book manuscript based on several years of archival research and ethnographic fieldwork in Dakar entitled, "The Forensics of Capital: Debt, Sacrifice, and Democracy in Senegal." His research interests include neoliberalism, globalization, postcolonialism, diaspora, youth, crime, citizenship, sovereignty, security, labor, politics, and sports. Ralph holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.