Dr. Klieman has received numerous awards and fellowships in the course of her career. Most recently she was the recipient of the University Teaching Excellence Award (2007), one of the highest honors bestowed by the University of Houston. She also received awards from the Social Science Research Council, Fulbright, and the Belgian-American Educational Foundation. Fieldwork for her first book was carried out in Francophone regions of west-central Africa (Gabon and the Republic of Congo, 1992-94). She has also traveled, studied, or researched in a number of other African and European countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Belgium, France).
Her first book, "The Pygmies Were Our Compass": Bantu and Batwa in the History of West Central Africa, Early Times to c. 1900 C.E. (Heinemann, 2003) reconstructed the changing nature of relationships (political, economic, religious) between Batwa ("Pygmy") peoples of the Central African rainforest and their Bantu-speaking agricultural neighbors over a 3000-year period. Through extensive use of interdisciplinary methods, the book provides important new paradigms and conceptual categories for understanding the Batwa past, the history of Western ideas about "Pygmies," the importance of "first-comers" in Bantu political systems, and the integral role of nature/territorial spirits in political and religious systems of the wider Bantu world. Lauded as "stunning", "a truly remarkable book" (ASA), "profoundly original," and "nothing short of revolutionary in central African Historiography" (CHOICE), the work was chosen by the African Studies Association as a finalist for the Melville J. Herskovits Award 2004 (given to the author of an outstanding scholarly work on Africa each year). It was also named a 2004 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.
While she remains passionate about the history of pre-colonial west-central Africa and continues to publish on the topic, life in Houston - the hub of the international oil industry - has had a profound impact on Dr. Klieman's research interests. Her work as a cultural/historical consultant to multination oil companies in Houston, as well as her experiences in oil-producing African nations (Gabon, Republic of Congo), have led to an avid interest in the oil industry and its impact on the social, political, and environment systems of Africa. Her second book projects is thus focused on the history of oil in the Gulf of Guinea, and seeks to identify the historical foundations of the "Oil Curse" evident throughout the region today. By focusing on the nature of relations/competition between multinational oil companies operating in central Africa during the first two decades of independence (1960's - 1970's), the book seeks to elucidate the impact that both upstream and downstream activites had on early African governments, development policies, and U.S. foreign policy towards the region.
Teaching:
Dr. Klieman teaches two undergraduate surveys - "African History to 1700" and "African History since 1700" - as well as upper division undergraduate courses on the topics of "Africa 1945-present", "Central Africans and the Atlantic Diaspora,'"Africa and the Oil Industry," and "Africa and the Indian Ocean World." She also teaches graduate courses on "Africa in Global History (to 1800)" and "Africa in Global History (1800 to present)." in the Spring of 2008 Dr. Klieman will inaugurate a new upper-division undergraduate course on "World Environmental History (before 1800)." Although she has no doctoral students (there in no Ph.D. program in African history at U.H.), she is proud to have directed the two following award-winning student works:
"Navigating the Indian Ocean: Exploring the Textures of an African Diaspora" by Philip Sinitiere, Graduate Student in American History, UH. Winner, World History Association/Phi Alpha Theta Student Paper in World History Competition (2005)
"Peoples of African Descent in Pakistan: Sheedis and their Role in Sindhi History," by Anna Khalique. Winner, Outstanding Senior Honor's Thesis (2007), Honors College, University of Houston.
Select Publications by Dr. Klieman
The Pygmies Were Our Compass: Bantu and Batwa in the History of West Central Africa, Early Times to c. 1900 (Heinemann, 2003). Finalist for the Herskovits Award (2004); named as a "Choice Outstanding Title."
"Of Ancestors and Earth Spirits: New Approaches for Interpreting Equatorial African Politics, Religion, and Art." Chapter in LaGamma, A. (ed.) Eternal Ancestors: Central African Reliquary Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2007)
"Oil, Politics, and Development in the Formation of a State: The Congolese Petroleum Wars, 1963-68," (forthcoming, Jan 2008, International Journal of African Historical Studies)
"Towards A History of Pre-colonial Gabon: Farmers and Forest Specialists along the Ogooue', c. 500 B.C.-100 A.D." in Michael C. Reed and James F. Barnes (eds.) Culture, Ecology, and Politics in Gabon's Rainforest (Edwin Mellen Press, 2003).
"Hunter-Gatherer Participation in Rainforest Trade Systems: A Comparative History of Forest vs. Ecotone Societies in Gabon and Congo, c. 1000-1900 A.D.," in Challenging Elusiveness: Central African Hunter-Gatherers in a Multidisciplinary Perspective, Karen Biesbrouch, Stefan Elders, Gerda Rossel, eds. (Research School CNWS, Universiteit Leiden, 1999).
