He received his doctorate in African history from the University of California-Davis in 2010. His project, “Crossing the ‘Black Earth’: Environmental Change, Eco-Nationalism, and Post-Independence Autonomy in a Beninese Forest Community,” is based on his dissertation. The manuscript analyzes the textual nature of a road traversing a valley of seasonal wetlands to emphasize social and environmental change in southeastern Benin, West Africa. Professor Filippello was in residence in fall 2011 with the Environment, Culture, and Sustainability Quadrant.