Kwasi Boadi

At Exeter, seasoned History Instructor Kwasi Boadi brings his Afrocentric expertise to the classroom, serves as Kirtland House’s dorm head and works hard to instill in students the values so central to the Harkness Method. Few know that Boadi counts Bob Marley and Miles Davis as two of his favorite musicians, or that he originally majored in biology.

At Exeter, Boadi teaches a number of history classes, including Precolonial Africa, Why Are Poor Nations Poor, and the U.S. History sequence. Outside of the classroom, he coaches Club Soccer and Club Basketball and serves on the Discipline Committee. When he’s not participating in these activities, Boadi can be found reading a book or listening to reggae, jazz, folk, Adowa or South African music. Without a doubt, Boadi brings a wide variety of interests to the PEA community.

Boadi never planned to teach history. As a child, he constantly questioned his teacher about African history, but the teacher refused to answer, telling Boadi to stick to the curriculum instead. “This dampened my spirit, but not forever,” he said. Boadi grew so frustrated at having his questions ignored that he reluctantly majored in Biology and Education when he attended the University of Cape Coast for his undergraduate degrees. He then taught high school in Ghana and Nigeria before being admitted to Laurentian University for a graduate program in microbiology. He finally decided to study history when he became a member of the International Student’s Association at Laurentian, a club that paid close attention to the anti-apartheid campaign, which reignited Boadi’s passion for world history, especially Africa’s history and its development. Boadi’s curiosity brought him to Howard University, where he was introduced to the philosophy of Pan-Africanism and The Nile Valley School of Afrocentrism.

"He’s very calm, and in the way he handles things, he holds us accountable for our actions. He treats all of us as equals and adults."

Later on, Boadi taught at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington D.C., and developed the school’s African-American history curriculum there. After, he sought out a job at an independent school in the Boston area in order to be closer to Wellesley College, where he taught a seminar in African political thought. It was his tenure there that lead him to Exeter.

At first, Boadi was hesitant about teaching at Exeter. “I didn’t give it any serious thought. For one thing, living in New Hampshire was not a very appealing proposition for me, given the Washington D.C. area ‘city guy’ I had become for more than two decades,” he said. However, moments before his interview, he saw a Harkness table in the Courses of Instruction booklet. “That was it!” he said. Boadi fell in love with the school. The following summer, in 2006, he moved to Exeter.

Many students expressed gratitude that Boadi decided to teach at Exeter in the end. Lower Behaylu Barrow, for example, explained that always looks forward to class discussions about Chinua Achebe’s seminal novel Things Fall Apart. “His [Boadi’s] teaching style was special because it was unbiased,” she said. “He allowed us to create our own opinions from our readings.”

According to many of his students, Boadi truly understands the difficulty and stress of being a student at the Academy. Upper Charlotte Polk, who is currently taking U.S. History with Boadi, remembered an occasion when he displayed particular empathy. “Once, we were talking to him and asked why there were three readings on low-homework weekend,” she said. “He looked at us and said ‘But they’re all just half a page long’… He’s just a good guy, who is on the student’s side and generally just wants you to succeed.”

In the same way, Boadi feels that the Academy has blessed him. “Exeter has been the climax of my career as a history instructor,” he said. He went on, praising the Harkness method in particular. “It [Harkness] prepares them for life—not just college—by making them more humanistic, confident, and humble at the same time, and more appreciative of nuance in the study of history.”

He also expressed his belief that regardless of how intelligent students are, they should always listen and accept knowledge from others. He cited a quote by Achebe, as the guiding principle by which he evaluates his students at the Harkness table. In his novel, Anthills of the Savannah, Achebe warned, “Whatever you are is never enough; you must find a way to accept something, however small, from the other to make you whole and save you from the mortal sin of righteousness and extremism.” Boadi believes that at its best, Harkness is an exchange between equals.

Boadi also values collaboration in general, and described 2012 as an especially rewarding year following in that vein. In addition to being appointed to the Michael Ridder ‘58 Distinguished Professorship, that year, he joined the Exeter Humanities Institute Leadership Team. He also spearheaded the Academy’s initiative to offer a study-abroad program in Ghana and helped the school create an exchange program with SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College (SOS-HGIC) in Tema, Ghana. Since 2013, Exeter seniors have spent fall term at SOS-HGIC. In exchange, SOS-HGIC sends students to Exeter’s summer school.

In addition to teaching, Boadi has served as the dorm head of Kirtland House since 2008, and before that, he was affiliated with Main Street Hall for two years. He commended his wife, Mercy Boadi, for aiding him with his duties as a dorm head. “Her motherly care and instincts, combined with her culinary expertise, have gone a long way in creating a homely and welcoming environment for my Kirtland girls over the years,” he said. He went on, emphasizing his gratitude for his spouse. “I am indebted to her,” he said.

According to upper Alexa Harris, advisee to Boadi and boarder in Kirtland house, Boadi completes the dorm. “He’s very calm, and in the way he handles things, he holds us accountable for our actions,” she said. “He treats all of us as equals and adults.”

She continued, describing his commitment to his responsibilities as an advisor to the majority of the dorm. “As my advisor, he honestly just cares,” she said. “He comes around the dorm at night asking how we are, how the week is going and how life is. He is just always there when I need him.”