Ph.D. Candidate
Caden comes to Boston University after spending nearly 10 years in Washington D.C. working for the U.S. Department of State and various international development non-profits. Caden holds a B.A. in Political Science focused on comparative politics and international relations and an M.A. from George Washington University focused on conflict, ethnic violence, and international development in sub-Saharan Africa.
After studying Swahili in Tanzania as a Boren Fellow (2018-2019) and Critical Language Fellow (2019), Caden became interested in the study of language as a cultural and political factor in nation-building and identity politics. From 2020-2021, Caden received a U.S. Student Fulbright research award to examine the role of Swahili in post-colonial nation-building in 1960s Tanzania. As a Foreign Language Area Studies fellow (2023-2024) for Zulu language, Caden’s dissertation topic and research interests focus on language politics and the history of multilingualism in South Africa while bringing in a cross-comparative perspective.
Additional Information: