Professor

Degrees

• Ph.D., Justice Studies, Arizona State University
• M.St., International Human Rights Law, University of Oxford
• M.A., Philosophy, State University of New York
• B.A., Philosophy & Religious Studies, St. Thomas Aquinas College

Office: BD 104

Phone: 575-646-4661

Email: nnativid@nmsu.edu

Areas of Interest

Human rights; border studies; immigration; transitional justice; race, crime, and justice; peace and conflict studies; civic memory and public humanities.

Biography

Dr. Nicholas D. Natividad is a Full Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University (NMSU), a Hispanic-Serving, land-grant institution located along the U.S.–Mexico border. His work bridges scholarship, pedagogy, and public engagement at the intersection of human rights, transitional justice, and border studies. His research is theoretically grounded and centers on transnational and local community practices of human rights informed by Indigenous and post-colonial methodologies that address inequality, crime, and violence.

Dr. Natividad is the founding architect and faculty lead of NMSU’s interdisciplinary Human Rights Minor, one of the first of its kind in the U.S. Southwest, and has developed eight new courses spanning international law, transitional justice, and border justice. His leadership has been recognized through fellowships with the University of Michigan’s New Leadership Academy and the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast, where his work explored connections between truth-telling, reconciliation, and border conflict.

A scholar-practitioner, Dr. Natividad’s research and teaching integrate theory with public practice. His work appears in venues such as Oxford University Press, Springer, SUNY Press, and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia, and he is co-editor of Crossing Digital Fronteras: Rehumanizing Latinx Education (SUNY Press, 2024). His recent scholarship interprets the United States as a society navigating post-conflict conditions—applying insights from transitional justice to polarization, civic repair, and narrative harm. His work is increasingly recognized in national conversations on human rights education, borderlands scholarship, and democratic repair.

He is co-creator of Pasos Ajenos: Social Justice and Inequalities in the Borderlands, an art and cultural exhibit focusing on regional issues of identity, environment, history, immigration, human rights, and law. The exhibit has been featured in traveling installations across New Mexico, California, and Texas. His work reflects a longstanding commitment to community engagement, public memory, and the pursuit of justice within and beyond the borderlands.

Current & Recent Projects

• Human Rights Minor (Faculty Lead) – Development and coordination of NMSU’s interdisciplinary Human Rights Minor, including curriculum design, new course creation, and community-engaged learning opportunities.
• Pasos Ajenos: Social Justice and Inequalities in the Borderlands – Co-created museum exhibit that uses art and interactive storytelling to explore social justice issues in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands.
• AI and Human Rights Education – Ongoing work to integrate emerging technologies, human rights frameworks, and justice-centered digital literacy into undergraduate curricula.
• Borderlands, Memory, and Transitional Justice – A book-length research project examining how border narratives, historical trauma, and civic memory shape contemporary polarization and possibilities for democratic repair.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate & Graduate Courses (NMSU)

CJ 414/514 – Race, Crime, and Justice

CJ 425/525 – Ethics, Law, and Criminal Justice

CJ 428/528 – Mexican Americans and Issues of Social Justice

CJ 429/529 – Immigration and Justice

CJ 4750V – International Criminal Law, War Crimes, & Crimes Against Humanity

HMRT 2110G – Introduction to Human Rights

HMRT 2175G – Border Justice & Human Rights

HMRT 4550V – Skills & Ethics for Human Rights Work

HMRT 4720V – Space Law and Human Rights

Selected Publications

Fronteras 725: Social Justice and Inequalities in the Borderlands