Nigel Westmaas

Nigel Westmaas is a Professor of Africana Studies at Hamilton College, where he has been a faculty member since 2006. His academic work bridges Sociology and Caribbean Studies, with a focus on Pan-Africanism, postcolonial politics, and media history in the Anglophone Caribbean.

• Ph.D. in Sociology, SUNY Binghamton
• M.A. in Sociology, SUNY Binghamton
• B.A., University of Guyana

Westmaas's research explores:

• Black radical thought and social movements
• Historical evolution of Guyana's political institutions
• Role of the press in colonial and postcolonial Caribbean
• Connections between Caribbean and global Pan-African movements

His publications span critical analyses of labor organizing, anti-colonial resistance, and the intersections of race, class, and environmental disasters. Westmaas has contributed to major works like The Fire that Time and Black Power in the Post-Independence Anglophone Caribbean, with recent co-authored work in Small Axe journal (2023).

College service highlights:

• Chair, Committee on Athletics (2012-15)
• Faculty advisor, Black and Latino Student Union (2012)
• Executive member, Diversity and Social Justice Project (2008)