Thomas J Desch-Obi

Assc Professor

Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Department: History

Areas of expertise:

Email Address: thomas.desch-obi@baruch.cuny.edu

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Biography
Teaching
Research and Creative Activity
Grants
Honors and Awards
Service

Education

Ph.D., African History, University of California Los Angeles

M.A., African Studies, University of California Los Angeles

B.A., Religion, Harvard University

Semester	Course Prefix	Course Number	Course Name
Fall 2023	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2023	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2023	REL	3085	Spec Topics: Religion & Cult
Spring 2023	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2023	HIS	3860	Top:Afr,Asia,Lat Am
Fall 2022	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2022	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2022	IDC	4050H	Hon Feit Hum Sem I
Spring 2022	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2021	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2021	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2021	HIS	3815	History of African Religions
Spring 2021	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2021	REL	3815	History of African Religions
Fall 2020	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2020	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2020	REL	3815	History of African Religions
Spring 2020	HIS	3815	History of African Religions
Spring 2020	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2019	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2019	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2018	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2017	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2017	HIS	3460	Topics in American History
Summer 2016	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2015	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2015	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2015	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2015	REL	3815	History of African Religions
Spring 2015	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2015	HIS	3815	History of African Religions
Fall 2014	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2014	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2014	BLS	3063	History of the Arican Diaspora
Spring 2014	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2014	HIS	1001H	Honors in Global History
Spring 2014	HIS	3063	The African Diaspora
Fall 2013	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2013	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2012	HIS	5001	Independent Study History II
Spring 2012	HIS	1001H	Honors in Global History
Spring 2012	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2012	HIS	3860	Top:Afr,Asia,Lat Am
Spring 2012	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2012	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2011	REL	3815	History of African Religions
Fall 2011	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2011	HIS	3815	History of African Religions
Fall 2011	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2011	HIS	3860	Top:Afr,Asia,Lat Am
Spring 2011	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2010	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2010	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2008	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2008	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2008	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2008	HIS	4900	Capstone: Search His
Fall 2007	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2007	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2007	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2007	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2007	HIS	3063	The African Diaspora
Spring 2007	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2006	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2006	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2006	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2006	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2006	HIS	3815	History of African Religions
Spring 2006	REL	3815	History of African Religions
Fall 2005	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2005	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Spring 2005	HIS	3860	Top:Afr,Asia,Lat Am
Spring 2005	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2004	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Summer 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2004	HIS	1001H	Honors in Global History
Spring 2004	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2004	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2003	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2003	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2003	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2003	IDC	4050H	Hon Feit Hum Sem I
Spring 2003	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2003	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Spring 2003	HIS	1003	Global His Since1500
Spring 2003	HIS	1003	Global His Since1500
Spring 2003	HIS	3063	The African Diaspora
Fall 2002	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2002	HIS	1003	Global His Since1500
Fall 2002	HIS	1003	Global His Since1500
Fall 2002	HIS	3063	The African Diaspora
Fall 2002	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2002	HIS	5001	Independent Study History II
Summer 2002	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Summer 2002	HIS	5001	Independent Study History II
Spring 2002	HIS	5000	Independent Study History I
Fall 2001	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce
Fall 2001	HIS	1001	Global His To 1500ce

Books

Desch-obi, T. (2008). Fighting for Honor: The History of African Martial Arts in the Atlantic World. Columbia, South Carolina, University of South Carolina Press.

Journal Articles

(2022). The Venezolano Moderno Style. The Immersion Review, 1(2). 22-40.

(2012). The Jogo de Capoeira and the Fallacy of ‘Creole’ Cultural Forms. African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 5(2). 211-228.

Desch-obi, T. (2011). A Defesa Dançada de Bill Richmond. Revista de História do Esporte, 4(2). 1-29.

Desch-obi, T. (2010). Peinillas and Popular Participation: Machete fighting in Haiti, Cuban and Colombia. Memorias, 6(11). 9302 words.

(2009). Black Terror: Bill Richmond’s Revolutionary Boxing. Journal of Sports History, 36(1). 99-114.

(2009). Angola e o Jogo de Capoeira. Antropolitica, 24(1). 103-124.

(1993). Capoeira: Martial Arts as Spiritual Discipline. Journal of Caribbean Studies (Association of Caribbean Studies), 19(2). 87-98.

Book Chapters

Desch-Obi, T. (2020). Ritualized Violence in Africa and the African Diaspora. In Dwyer, P. (Ed.), Cambridge World History of Violence Cambridge,U.K.. Cambridge University Press.

Desch-obi, T. (2016). Le Defi: Exploring the History of Mascarene Martial Arts. In Weldemichael, A. T., Lee, A. A., & Alpers, E. A. (Eds.), Changing Horizons of African History (pp. 125-148). Trenton, New Jersey,U.S.A.. Africa World Press.

Desch-obi, T. (2012). Los Ayudados: Oral History of a Guapetón. In Valdés , V. K. (Ed.), Let Spirit Speak! Cultural Journeys through the African Diaspora (pp. 31-38). Albany, NY. SUNY Press.

Desch-obi, T. (2010). Koup Tet: A Machete Wielding View of the Haitian Revolution. In Apter, A., & Derby, R. (Eds.), Activating the Past: History and Memory in the Black Atlantic (pp. 245-266). Newcastle upon Tyne,UK. Cambridge Scholars Publishers.

Desch-obi, T. (2004). Deadly Dances: The Spiritual Dimensions of Kongo-Angolan Martial Arts Traditions in the New World. In Bellegarde-Smith, P. (Ed.), Fragments of Bone: Neo-African Religions in a New World (pp. 70-89). Champaign-Urbana, IL. University of Illinois Press.

Desch-obi, T. (2001). Combat and the Crossing of the Kalunga. In Heywood, H. (Ed.), Central Africans and Cultural Transformations in the American Diaspora (pp. 353-370). Cambridge,UK. Cambridge University Press.

Presentations

Desch-obi, T. (2017, March 31). Ethnicity and Identity in the Capoeira Societies of Rio de Janeiro. Capoeira Symposium. New York City: Colombia University Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life.

Desch-obi, T. (2017, April 7). Martial Mothers in the Cross River and Caloto: Feminine Spirituality and the Aesthetics of Combat. New York Area African Workshop. New York City: C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center.

Desch-obi, T. (2016, March 25). Los Negros del Zurriago. Historical Conflicts and the Prospects for Peace in Colombia. Nashville: Vanderbilt University.

Desch-obi, T. (2016, June 20). Ritualized Violence in Africa and the Diaspora. The Cambridge World History of Violence Conference. Rome, Italy: Cambridge University.

Desch-obi, T. (2015, November 30). Martial Motherhood: Dike nwami and maestras de grima as socially sanctioned femininities in Calabar and Caloto. Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora. Charleston, SC

Desch-obi, T. (2015, April 30). Combative Connections: The Transnational Linkages in Afro-Colombian Martial Arts. Locating and Connecting Latin American and the African Diaspora. Charlotte, NY: University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Desch-obi, T. (2015, March 31). Bad-ass Femininity: Gendering the Aesthetics and Practice of Machete Fighting. National Council of Black Studies. Los Angeles

Desch-obi, T. (2014, October 31). honor and the Aesthetics of Agon in Jailhouse Rock. Marking Time: Prison Arts and Activism Conference. New Brunswick: Rutgers University.

Desch-obi, T. (2013, November 30). Cruzas and Cartillas: The Counter-archive of Afro-Colombian Martial Arts Styles. Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora. Santo Domingo

Desch-obi, T. (2012, November 30). Combat in Cimbebasia:A Counterpoint from the Southern Frontier. African Studies Association. Philadelphia

Desch-obi, T. (2012, April 30). Corporal Archives. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

Desch-obi, T. (2012, September 30). Angolan Aesthetics and the First American Pugilist. Duke university: Duke University.

Desch-obi, T. (2011, December 31). Esgrima de Machete: A Latin American Martial Art Tradition. Afro-Latin America: Rethinking Identity, Politics and Culture Symposium. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University.

Desch-obi, T. (2011, November 30). Negros Macheteros: Afro-Latino Martial Arts in the Popular Imagination. Afro-Latino Conference. New York City: Afro-Latino Forum.

Desch-obi, T. (2010, April 30). Los Ayudados: Spiritual Forces and the Machete Arts. Cultural Journeys through the African Diaspora Conference. New York City: City College, CUNY.

Desch-obi, T. (2009, April 30). Muhammad Ali and Zaire. University of Nebraska Blacks in Film Festival. Lincoln: University of Nebraska.

Desch-obi, T. (2009, February 28). African Diaspora Pugilism and the Lowcountr. Charleston, SC: College of Charleston.

Desch-obi, T. (2008, May 31). ’That African Way’: Machete Fighting Arts in Cuba, Haiti, and Colombia. Caribbean Studies Association Conference. San Andres, Colombia: Caribbean Studies Association.

Desch-obi, T. (2008, March 31). Performing Combat: An Oral History of Afro-Colombian Escrima and Participation in the War of Leticia. Oral History Conference. New York City: Oral History Association.

Desch-obi, T. (2007, February 28). Combat and Creolization. Rethinking Boundaries Conference. New York City: NYU.

Desch-obi, T. (2007, October 31). Le Defi: Mascarene Pugilism and the African Diaspora. African Studies Association Conference. New York City: African Studies Association.

Desch-obi, T. (2006, April 30). History and the Language of Combat. Invited Lecture. Miami: Florida Memorial College.

Desch-obi, T. (2005, February 28). Masculinity and the 52 Combat Aesthetic. Black Masculinities Conference. New York: Graduate Center, CUNY.

Desch-obi, T. (2005, April 30). Koup Tet: Haitian stick fighting and the Haitian Revolution. Activating the Past Conference. Los Angeles: UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (2005, October 31). History and Origin Myths: The Genesis of Brazil's Famous Capoeira Foot-Fighting. Conference. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Association for the Study of the Worldwide Arfican Diaspora (ASWAD).

Desch-obi, T. (2004, February 28). Battle Dancers: The Surprising Success of Early Black Boxers. Conference. New York University: New York Historians of Africa.

Desch-obi, T. (2004, October 31). Fighting Sweet: African Combat Aesthetics and British Boxing. African Diaspora Interdisciplinary Conference. New York: Graduate Center, CUNY.

Desch-obi, T. (2004, May 31). Medicine and Conflict in Central Arfica. Invited Lecture. New York: Charles Moore Center of Ethnic Studies.

Desch-obi, T. (2004, April 30). Guarda Negra: Art and Social Resistance. Invited Lecture. : John F. kennedy School African Diaspora in the Amercias Conference.

Desch-obi, T. (2003, April 30). Oceans Apart: the Origin and Spread of an Angolan Foot-fighting Tradition. Invited Lecture. : University of Pennsylvania, East Asian Studies & African Studies Center.

Desch-obi, T. (2002, December 31). Diving History: Historical Linguistics and African Divination in Historical Reconstruction. Washington D.C: African Studies Association.

Desch-obi, T. (2002, November 30). Historical Creolization: A Reappraisal for the Perspective of African martial art Traditions in Brazil. Conference. New York: Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean\ City University of New York.

Desch-obi, T. (2002, June 30). ASILI: Fieldwork and Computer Software in African History. Interdisciplinary Symposium on Fieldwork in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: The West African Research Association,.

Desch-obi, T. (2002, November 30). Philosophy in Motion. Public Performance and Lecture on African influence on dance in the Americas and the world of martial arts. New York: Baruch College.

Desch-obi, T. (2001, November 30). Giving Voice to Minority Groups among Enslaved Africans in North America. Keynote address. : Symposium on Slave Life and Culture, Indiana University.

Desch-obi, T. (2001, November 30). Cross-stepping: African Traditions in the Carolina Lowcountry. Houston, Texas: African Studies Association.

Desch-obi, T. (2001, November 30). African Origins of Virginia Slave Culture. Invited lecture. : University of maryland honors program.

Desch-obi, T. (2000, October 31). Angola and 'a luta brasileria'. Conference on Enslaving Connections: Africa and Brazil during the Era of the Slave Trade. Canada. UNESCO: York University.

Desch-obi, T. (2000, September 30). Triknology and Trip'em ups. Conference on Crossing Boundries: The African Diaspora in the New Millennium. : New York University.

Desch-obi, T. (2000, April 30). Capoeira and Co-optation: From 'National' Subcultures to a Brazilian National Form. African Studie Conference. : UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (2000, July 31). Biafran Cultural Traditions in North America. Conference on Repercussions of the Atlantic Slave Trade: The Interior of the Bight and the African Diaspora. Enugu, Nigeria

Desch-obi, T. (1999, September 30). Combat and the Crossing of the Kalunga. Conference on Bantu into Black: Central Africans in the Atlantic Diaspora. : Howard University.

Desch-obi, T. (1999, January 31). Spiritual Dimensions of Martial Arts in the African Diaspora. Atlantic Series Colloquium. : UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (1998, November 30). Military and religious of West Central Africa. Invited Lecture. : University of Houston.

Desch-obi, T. (1997, March 31). Linguas nacionais como fontes historicas. Invited Lecture, Instituto Superior de Ciencias da Educacao. : Department of History, Agostinho Neto University.

Desch-obi, T. (1996, October 31). Fieldwork Methods. Guest Lecture. : Loyola Marymount University.

Desch-obi, T. (1995, December 31). African Combat Dances in America. African American Theater. : UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (1995, October 31). Quem Nao Pode com Mandinga. American Folklore Society Annual Meeting. : UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (1995, May 31). The Surprising Success of Early Black Boxers. African Activists Association Annual Meeting. : UCLA.

Desch-obi, T. (1995, May 31). Batuque and Plays: Comparing Slave Cultures in Brazil and the United States. Invited Lecture, Fireside Lounge Series. : Univsity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Desch-obi, T. (1995, February 28). Stick fighting in the African Diaspora. Invited Lecture. : University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Desch-obi, T. (1994, December 31). African Combat Dances in America. African American Theater. : UCLA.

Other Scholarly Works

Desch-obi, T., & Palmer, C. (2005). Capoeira. Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas.

Desch-obi, T., Eyoh, D., & Tiyambe Zeleza, P. (2003). Cape Verde. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History. 62-64.

Desch-obi, T., Eyoh, D., & Tiyambe Zeleza, P. (2003). Windhoek, Namibia. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History. 595-596.

Desch-obi, T., Eyoh, D., & Tiyambe Zeleza, P. (2003). Angola. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History. 33-35.

Reviews

Desch-obi, T. (2009,January 1). Capoiera. American Historical Review.

Research Currently in Progess

Desch-obi, T. (.(n.d.). Hombres Históricos: Grima and the Afro-Colombian Struggle. In Progress.

Book manuscript. This manuscript traces the social history of the martial art of grima from 1840 to 1960. It begins with the stick and machete-based of grima during the last decade of legal bondage, and its role in toppling the institution of slavery. It explores the role of grima as an extra-military skill that made Afro-Colombians of the Cauca the lifeblood of the liberal armies in the frequent civil wars from 1851 to 1902. It similarly explores grima's role in male duels for honor and female struggles for community leadership and against domestic abuse. Grima became an important militarily in the Afro-Colombian struggle to retain their lands and in the service of the nation and liberal party respectively during the conflict with Peru in 1932 and the civil war of 1948. The manuscript concludes by looking at the transformations and legacies of grima academies in the wake of the 1948-52 period of violence.

Title	Funding Agency Sponsor	Start Date	End Date	Awarded Date	Total Funding	Status
Grima's West African Antecedants	PSC-CUNY 50	07/01/2019	12/31/2022	04/15/2019	3500	Completed
The Juego Cubano: A Transnational History of Machetes and Revolutionary Struggle	PSC-CUNY 45	07/01/2014	06/30/2015	04/15/2014	3494.2	Completed
Grima in Caloto Viejo	British Library	06/15/2013	08/14/2013	06/05/2013	14799.91	Completed
Grima: Machetes and Men of History	PSC-CUNY 42	07/01/2011	06/30/2012	04/15/2011	3500	Completed
Panga: The Machete Arts of Agriculture and War	PSC-CUNY 40	07/01/2009	06/30/2010		4215	Completed
Le Défi: A History of the Martial Arts of the Indian Ocean World	PSC-CUNY 38	07/01/2007	06/30/2008		5950	Completed
Grima's African Archipelago Antecedants	PSC CUNY 53	07/01/2022	12/31/2023	04/15/2022	6000	Funded - In Progress

Honor / Award	Organization Sponsor	Date Received	Description
Mellon Committee on Religion Fellowship		2012
West Point Summer Fellowship	West Point	2011	Summer Fellowship for Military History at West Point.
Schomburg Scholar in Residence Fellowship	Schomburg Center	2010
2008 Hines Prize for the best book in Atlantic World History		2008
Research Fellowship	Eugene M. Lang	2004
Mellon Faculty Seminar	CUNY	2004
NEH Summer Stipend Award		2004
Caribbean Theater and Culltural Perforamnce	NEH Summer Seminar	2003
Center for Place, Culture, and Politics Fellowship	CUNY	2003
Faculty Publication Program	CUNY	2003
Whiting Foundation Award		2003
William Stewart Travel Award		2003
The Slavery Debates	Gilder Lehrman Institute Seminar	2002
Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship	Ford Foundation	2000
Presidents Fellowship	AY	1999
Chancellor's Dissertation Year Fellowship	AY	1998
Filbright IIE Fellowship, for research in Namibia	AY	1997
Project 88 Scholarship (1995-1997)		1997
Social Science Research Council, for fieldwork in Angola	AY	1996
Small Grant Fieldwork ib Brazil	Center for Latin American Studies	1996
International Studies and Overseas Programs, Language Study	UCLA	1995
Small Grant, for archival work in Angola	UCLA History Department	1995
Fieldwork in South Carolina	Institute pf American Cultures Grant	1994
Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS Title VI), for Kriolu		1994
Graduate Affirmative Affairs Scholarship	AY	1993
Trustman Fellowship, for research in Nigeria and Brazil	AY	1990
Sally and Sressap Moore Prize, for best research thesis		1990
John Harvard Scholarship	AY	1989
Horvard Scholarship (1987-1988)	AY	1988

College

Committee Name	Position Role	End Date
Performing Arts Board		Present
Religion and Culture Program	Member	Present
Advisor for History Minors		Present
Curriculum Committee	Committee Member	Present
Latin American and Caribbean Studies	Member	Present
Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Club	Faculty Advisor	Present
Interim Department Chair		12/31/2016
Executive Committee	Committee Member	12/31/2015
Executive Committee	Committee Member	12/31/2008
Department Planning Committee	Committee Member	12/31/2007
Committee on Collegiate Athletic Activities		12/31/2007
Collaboration with Baruch College Campus High School		12/31/2006
Committee Athletic Activities	Committee Chair	12/31/2006
Computers in Education Committee		12/31/2006
History Club	Co-director	12/31/2006
"Ologunde" Pre-performance lecture		12/31/2003
"Philosophy in Motion" Lecture and Performance		12/31/2002

University

Committee Name	Position Role	Start Date	End Date
PSC-CUNY Grants	Grant Proposal Reviewer, Internal	1/1/2018	2/28/2018
CUNY Mellon Faculty Seminar		1/1/2004	12/31/2005
CUNY Center for Place, Culture, and Politics Seminar		1/1/2003	12/31/2004

Professional

Organization	Position Role	Organization State	Organization Country	Start Date	End Date	Audience
Articles reviewed for Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies	Reviewer	Arizona	United States		Present	International
The University of the West Indies	External Reviewer	Trinidad	Trinidad and Tobago	9/20/2022	6/17/2023	International

Public

Organization	Position Role	Organization State	Organization Country	Start Date	End Date	Audience
CUNY Faculty Publication Program					3/31/2003