Chelsi West Ohueri
2021-2022
Weatherhead Fellow
Affiliation at time of award:
Assistant Professor
Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies
University of Texas, Austin
Chelsi West Ohueri
Photo courtesy of Jay Marie Photography
The Contours of Race-Making in the Afterlife of Communism: An Ethnography of Belonging in Albania
In the context of her work on local and global structures of race, Dr. Ohueri argues that the study of Albania helps us to better understand global race and racialization. Based upon extensive ethnographic research conducted over a period of twelve years, her book project explores the meanings of race and its significance for Albanians, Roma, and Egyptians in Tirana. Ohueri analyzes marginalization and peripheral whiteness as part of race-making in the afterlife of communism, a moment rife with complexities surrounding identity and belonging. Her book will explore what a contextualized analysis of a southeast European country can reveal about race as a global project.