Nigel Westmaas
Chair, Associate Professor of Africana Studies

Nigel Westmaas has published articles in numerous periodicals, including the Stabroek News, a Guyanese newspaper. Westmaas is co-editor of a UNESCO assisted booklet on a directory of Guyanese periodicals. His research for and contributing co-written article to the Marcus Garvey Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers Caribbean series project was published by the University of California Press. He also published a chapter in Black Power in the Post-Independence Anglophone Caribbean (University Press of Florida, 2014). Other research interests include the history of the newspaper press, pan-Africanism and the rise and impact of political and social movements, mainly in the Anglophone Caribbean. He earned his doctorate from SUNY Binghamton.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to Africana Studies
Global African Social Movements
Haiti and the Caribbean
Understanding Caribbean Carnival
Selected Publications
- “An Organic pan-Africanist: Eusi Kwayana, Guyana and global pan-Africanism," in Black Power in the Post-Independence Anglophone Caribbean (University Press of Florida, 2014)
- Nigel Westmaas and Juanita De Barros, “Historical Commentaries: British Guiana (Guyana),” in The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, The Caribbean Diaspora, 1910-1920, Volume 11 (Durham: Duke University Press 2013)
- “Martin Carter’s Prose: An appreciation” in All Are Involved: The Art of Martin Carter, ed., Stewart Brown (Leeds: Peepal Tree Press, 2000)
- “1968 and the Social and Political Foundations and Impact of the ‘New Politics’ in Guyana,” Caribbean Studies 37, no. 2 (July –December 2009)
- “Resisting Orthodoxy: Notes on the Origins and Ideology of the Working People’s Alliance,” Small Axe No 15 (March 2004)
College Service
Committee on Athletics, 2012-15
Faculty advisor, Black and Latino Student Union (BLSU), 2012
Committee on Academic Standing (COA), 2010
Executive member, Diversity and Social Justice Project, 2008
Athletics Subcommittee (Strategic Planning Subcommittee), 2008
Executive Committee, Diversity and Social Justice Project, 2008
Member, Hamilton Strategic Planning Committee for Athletics, 2007
Professional Affiliations
Guyana Institute of Historical Research
Pan-African Community of Central New York
Appointed to the Faculty
2006Educational Background
Ph.D., SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.
M.A., SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.
B.A., University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana
Personal Interests
cricket, soccer, table tennis