Esther K Whitfield

Esther K. Whitfield is a Professor of Hispanic Studies and the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Professor of Comparative Literature at Brown University. She holds joint appointments in the Department of Comparative Literature and Department of Hispanic Studies. Her work focuses on contemporary Latin American and Caribbean literature, particularly Cuban cultural studies, postcolonial borderlands, and Welsh diasporic narratives.

Whitfield earned a B.A. in Modern Languages from Oxford University (1994), followed by an M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2001) in Romance Languages & Literatures from Harvard University. Her research explores transnational cultural dynamics, including the socio-political dimensions of the Guantánamo naval base, post-Soviet Cuban literature, and Welsh-Patagonian identity.

Her recent book A New No-Man’s Land: Writing and Art at Guantánamo, Cuba (2024) examines the region as a contested borderland through interdisciplinary lenses. She has also co-edited volumes on Havana post-1989 and Cuban short fiction. Whitfield’s honors include the Presidential Award for Faculty Governance (2023), NEH grants, and fellowships from Harvard and Brown.

She teaches courses on Caribbean re-writings, Cuban revolutionary literature, and postcolonial theory. Current research investigates animal welfare movements in Cuba alongside human rights advocacy. Whitfield actively contributes to academic organizations including the Modern Language Association and Latin American Studies Association.