A scholar of sexuality, race, biopolitics, and postcoloniality, Diabate’s research explores African, African American, Caribbean, and Afro-Hispanic literatures, cultures, cinema, and new media. Her book Naked Agency: Genital Cursing and Biopolitics in Africa (Duke UP, 2020) won the 2021 Best Book Award from the African Studies Association.

Read an explainer by Diabate about the women's protests led by Leymah Gbowee, 2022 Bartels lecturer.