Graduate Essay Award 2022

Sarah E Djos-Raph

« Objectifying and Objecting Objects: Looting to Rooting? How the American Black Lives Matter Movement influences French Restitution in Benin »

Professor: Dr. Amadou Ouédraogo

Sarah Djos-Raph (née Denslow) (she/her) is a mother, a wife, a philanthropist, a friend, and an ABD Ph.D. candidate and instructor of at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Originally from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, she holds a B.A. in International Affairs with a concentration in Women’s Studies and a B.A. in French from The University of Maine. Additionally, she holds a M.A. in French from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As an American-Beninese dual citizen, her dissertation centers around feminine figures and sorority in contemporary Beninese literature written by women Beninese writers, and her research interests include West African nationalism, identity, and diaspora. Sarah has previously served as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Fulbright Canada Killam Fellow, and Peace Corps Volunteer, and she is a current Rotarian and runs a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of youth.