Saani Mohammed
Graduate Teaching Associate
Bio
As a PhD Student in Sociology with the Oklahoma State University, I have always considered teaching at the higher institutional level as my calling. I have had a long journey of working several diverse areas including the legislature of Ghana, local and central governments as well as the private sector both in Ghana and Canada and my most fulfilled time was when I worked as an education and training officer for the Institute of Local Government Studies, Ghana. Leaving that job after a short stint has always left a void in me with the yearning to return to teaching; the opportunity of which has finally presented itself in the form of a PhD in Sociology with the Oklahoma State University
My philosophy has been to use the knowledge I have gained over the years to educate the world about Africa and to educate Africans about the world. This is not surprising, I have found a home in Political Sociology. This philosophy has helped shaped the kind of education I have acquired over the years spanning from International Development Studies, through International Business, Business Management and finally sociology. I believe that the unique blend of education I have had over the years has placed me in a position to better understand Africa and the world, and the dynamics that are continually shaping and reshaping the lives of over 1 billion people, their interactions with the outside and the future that, the internationally community jointly share of which Africa will play a major role.
My academic interests right now revolve around political sociology especially social influence/impact on leadership, social mass movements in Africa, corruption and despotism in Africa, the proliferation of modern mass media in Africa and how their usage is changing the Africa of the 21st century and beyond, environmental sociology as pertaining to the impact of mining in Africa, desertification and climate change, African-American studies and their impact on Africa, inequality, poverty, the intersection of capitalism and communism and their effects on the well-being of Africans, new economic theories and the elusive ideas of egalitarianism.
Education
- B.A. in Integrated Development Studies, University of Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana, 2001
- Certificate in International Development Studies, Trent University, 2003
- M.B.A. in International Business, Vancouver Island University, 2020
Research Interests
- Political Sociology
- Gender & Int'l Development
- Cultural Sociology
- Global Development
- Social Movements
- Environmental Sociology
- Sociology of Education
- Race and Ethnicity
- Social Inequality
- Sociology of modern mass media