Nitasha Tamar Sharma

Nitasha Tamar Sharma is Professor of Black Studies and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, holding the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence title. She directs the Asian American Studies Program and co-directs the Council for Race and Ethnic Studies (2017-2025), with courtesy appointments in Performance Studies and affiliations at the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, American Studies, and former fellowships at the Kaplan Institute, Buffett Institute, and CRES.

Sharma's research pioneers comparative race studies through interdisciplinary ethnography, contesting inter-minority racisms while documenting cross-racial solidarities among non-White groups. Her work centers Black Pacific studies, Afro-Asian relations, Black-Native studies intersections, and critical mixed race theory, examining how Black communities navigate race/indigeneity in Hawai'i and South Asian Americans engage Blackness through hip hop. She develops relational frameworks emphasizing historical crossovers and liberated futures through expansive political orientations.

Her publications reveal consistent engagement with Pacific Islands studies, trans-Pacific relations, post-9/11 racial formations, and hip hop's role in shaping global race consciousness. Recent work emphasizes center-to-center relationalities that challenge conventional spatial hierarchies, while earlier scholarship established foundational connections between South Asian American hip hop participation and Black liberation movements. Across two decades, her research bridges Black Studies, Asian American Studies, and Native Studies through ethnographic rigor.

Dr. Sharma's scientific recognition includes:

• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend
• Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Grant
• Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence Award
• Weinberg College Distinguished Teaching Award
• Faculty Fellowships at CRES, Buffett Institute, CNAIR, and Kaplan Institute
• National Emerging Scholar designation by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Her grant funding supports ethnographic research on Black Pacific communities and interminority relations, while teaching excellence awards reflect transformative pedagogy in courses like "Black Studies, Native Studies, Asian Settler Colonialism" and "Introduction to Critical Mixed Race Studies." Sharma co-edits major academic volumes and serves on editorial boards including American Quarterly.

As Director of Asian American Studies and Co-Director of CRES, Sharma leads interdisciplinary initiatives fostering race/ethnicity scholarship. Her leadership extends to the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research and American Studies program, building collaborative networks focused on Pacific Islands studies, Black-Asian relations, and decolonial approaches to race scholarship.