The Bonn-Yale-Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Fellowship

Named after the African scholar Anton Wilhelm Amo, this residential fellowship is based in Germany and is open to all scholars with expertise in racial slavery in the southern United States from the colonial period through the American Civil War. Applicants MUST have received the Ph.D. prior to the beginning of their appointment. Both, established and younger scholars are encouraged to apply to the BCDSS for this annual fellowship (details below).

The Fellow is a member of the Heinz Heinen Kolleg – Center for Advanced Study at the BCDSS that hosts 10 international scholars whose research focuses on various forms of slavery or severe asymmetrical dependency throughout human history and in various cultural contexts. In addition to working on his or her own research project, the Fellow will teach one course related to their research and hold related office hours for students. Ideally, the Fellow will also complete a significant publication during their residency. The Fellow is expected to participate in the intellectual life of the BCDSS and the larger university community. The Fellow will offer one public presentation during their tenure at Bonn.

Anton Wilhelm Amo was born around 1700 on the African Gold Coast in the town of Axim in present-day Ghana. He was brought to Germany by the Dutch West India Company in 1707 as an enslaved child and given as a gift to Duke August Wilhelm and Ludwig Rudolf von Wolfenbüttel. Amo was the first African-born person known to have attended a European university. He obtained a doctorate degree in philosophy and held lectures at the universities of Halle and Jena. Having spent forty years of his life in Germany, Amo returned to his place of birth where he died after 1753.