ABSTRACT
Curtis Keim’s expertise as a cultural historian of Africa focuses on the Mangbetu complex of kingdoms of northeastern Congo, and on the material culture of these peoples in a major collection from the early 20th century housed at the American Museum of Natural History. His broad experience as a teacher, first in Congo, then in the United States, has led him to become an expert observer of the underlying power of culture to shape perception of others, with specific attention to Western, especially American, stereotypes of Africa. Reflections on his upbringing in the Church of the Brethren, a parallel Anabaptist community to the Mennonites, and three years teaching in MCC-Teachers Abroad Program (TAP), detail the many ways the service experience prepared him for a career as Africanist.
