Nicole Aljoe

Nicole Aljoe is a Professor of English and Africana Studies at Northeastern University, serving as Graduate Program Director within the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Her academic background includes a PhD from Tufts University and a BA from Vassar College. Aljoe specializes in 18th/19th-century Black Atlantic and Caribbean literature, focusing on slave narratives, early novels, and digital humanities projects like the Early Caribbean Digital Archive. She explores marginalized voices through archives, examining representations of Caribbean women and intersections between Black narratives and European/American literary development.

Her research extends to collaborative work with the Mapping Black London team and the Unforgotten Lives exhibit, highlighting underrepresented Londoners (1560–1860). Aljoe’s interdisciplinary affiliations include the Center for International Affairs, Humanities Center, and NULab for Digital Humanities. She teaches courses on postcolonial women writers, Boston’s literary landscape, and early African-American literature, emphasizing gender, colonialism, and diaspora.

Current projects investigate European/English depictions of Caribbean women of color (1780–1840) and the relationship between Black life narratives and 18th-century novelistic forms. Her work bridges historical analysis with digital innovation, advocating for inclusive archival practices and decolonizing literary historiography.

Aljoe collaborates across departments and research centers to advance critical race studies and global humanities, maintaining active participation in teaching, scholarship, and public-facing initiatives that center marginalized narratives.