Manthia Diawara is University Professor and Professor of Comparative Literature and film at New York University. He is the director of the Institute of African American Affairs. A native of Mali, Professor Diawara received his education in France and later traveled to t he United States for his university studies.  He has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pennsylvania.  Diawara is also the founder and editor of Black Renaissance/ Renaissance Noire, a bilingual review that publishes essays, fiction, reviews and artwork relating to Africa and the Black Diaspora.
He has published several books on African and African Diaspora cultures, films, and literatures including: African Cinema: Politics and Culture (1992), Black American Cinema (1993), In Search of Africa (1998), We Won’t Budge (2003), and African Film: New Forms of Aesthetic and Politics (April 2010). Diawara’s documentary films include the widely acclaimed Rouch in Reverse (1995), Bamako Sigi Kan (2001), Conakry Kas (2004), Who’s Afraid of Ngugi (2007) and Maison Tropicale (2008) He also produced a documentary film on Edouard Glissant, entitled Edouard Glissant : un monde en relation.