Nigel Hatton

Nigel Hatton is an Associate Professor of Literature in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts at the University of California, Merced. His research bridges literary analysis with philosophical inquiry, focusing on intersections between American literature, African American studies, and global human rights frameworks.

• Ph.D. in Modern Thought & Literature and the Humanities, 2010 — Stanford University
• M.A. in Modern Thought & Literature, 2006 — Stanford University
• M.A. and M.J. in Latin American Studies and Journalism, 2005 — University of California, Berkeley
• M.F.A. in Writing, 2001 — University of San Francisco
• B.A. in English, 1995 — Virginia Tech

Hatton's scholarship explores:

• Literature and Philosophy — examining works from antiquity to modernity, including existentialist thinkers like Kierkegaard and Sartre.
• Global Human Rights — tracing literary responses to rights discourses post-1945.
• Narrative Medicine — analyzing storytelling in carceral and medical contexts.
• African American Aesthetics — with emphasis on Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.

His teaching spans courses on:

• Postwar/postcolonial literature
• Existentialism & Phenomenology
• Senior thesis supervision
• Literature and Philosophy interdisciplinary studies

Recent presentations include:

• James Baldwin in Denmark – and beyond
• History, Philosophy, and the 1619 Project
• African American Lifeworlds and contemporary justice movements