Daniel Mains

Dan Mains BS ’97 lives in Norman, Oklahoma, with wife Alise Osis and kids Iris and Gus. Dan teaches courses on cultural anthropology and African studies in the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma. His first book is Hope Is Cut: Youth, Unemployment, and the Future in Urban Ethiopia (Temple University Press, 2012). He is currently finishing up his second book, Technologies of Development: Infrastructure and Governance in Urban Ethiopia. Mains received a Humboldt Research Fellowship to support a residency at ZMO in Berlin during the 2017–18 academic year, and he hopes to cross paths with other Lewis & Clark alumni while there.

Daniel Mains BS ’97 authors this exploration of the current state of urban Ethiopia, home to one of the world’s fastest growing economies despite its unpopular ruling party’s association with corruption and mismanagement. Mains examines how urban development and governance interrelate, and how “progress” can continue while so many urban Ethiopians struggle to meet daily needs. Duke University Press, 2019. 240 pages.