Dana Williams-Johnson
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests include: the impacts of misinformation and hate speech in online spaces, race and feminism in social media, and the societal impact of social media. My goal is to not only examine the impact that racism in online spaces has on society but to also celebrate the joy of marginalized populations and how they utilize social media to share their experiences and beauty online.
EDUCATION
Howard University, Washington, DC | May 2023
Doctor of Philosophy in Communications, Culture and Media Studies (with distinction)
The George Washington University, Washington, DC | July 2008
Master of Professional Studies in Publishing
Howard University, Washington, DC | May 2000
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Howard University, Department of Marketing
Assistant Professor | August 2023
Courses taught: Social Media & Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing (graduate), Business Communication, Business Problem Solving, Publication Management, Advanced Digital Marketing
Instructor | August 2018 – May 2023
Courses taught: Social Media & Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing (graduate), Business Communication, Business Problem Solving, Publication Management, Advanced Digital Marketing
Adjunct Professor, Social Media & Internet Marketing | August 2014 – May 2018
DISSERTATION RESEARCH
“Stitches of Progress: Knitting, Consciousness and the Changing Power of Black Women’s Work and Leisure”
Committee: Loren Coleman, Ph.D Advisor, Wei Sun, Ph.D Chair, Dean Gracie Lawson-Borders, Ph.D, Youngjin Park, Ph.D – defended April 2023
Williams-Johnson, D. (2023). Stitches of Progress: Knitting, Consciousness, and the Changing Power of Black Women’s Work and Leisure (Order No. 30486034). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Howard University; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2824602171). http://proxyhu.wrlc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/stitches-progress-knitting-consciousness-changing/docview/2824602171/se-2
The purpose of this research is to understand how Black women disrupt the knitting industry’s ideals of beauty and womanhood through their use of social media. Through a content analysis of popular knitting magazines and the social media posts of Black women who knit, in addition to qualitative interviews with Black women who knit, this study will use postcolonial feminist theory to explore societal standards of beauty and womanhood in craft and representations of Black women on social media.
PUBLICATIONS
Jenkins, K., Williams-Johnson, D., & Sun, W. (2024). Content Analysis of Selective WHO-Affiliated Member Countries’ COVID-19 Vaccination Messages on Twitter Targeting Young Adults. In E. K. Ngwainmbi (Ed.), Social Media, Youth, and the Global South: Comparative Perspectives (pp. 23–42). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41869-3_2
Powell, A., & Williams-Johnson, D. (2023). “You dumb cracker b*tch”: The legitimizing of White supremacy during a Twitch ban of HasanAbi. New Media & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231191776
Williams-Johnson, D. (2023) This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community, and Connection,, TEXTILE, DOI: 10.1080/14759756.2023.2209770
Williams-Johnson, D. (2023). Double consciousness. In SAGE Business Foundations. SAGE Publications, Ltd., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071905388
GRADUATE RESEARCH
Graduate Research Assistant June 2021 – September 2021
Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University
Performed research for the Social Media Pop-up project on online communities and online harassment. Also wrote for the Berkman-Klein Center’s Medium:
Williams-Johnson, D. (2021, November 17). A Herculean task: How do we save ourselves from social media? Rebooting Social Media. https://medium.com/rebooting-social-media/a-herculean-task-how-do-we-save-ourselves-from-social-media-7bc1378d949b
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Williams-Johnson, D. (2021, March 24-28). “The Impact of Sheltering in Place on Single Black Women During a Pandemic” [Conference presentation]. Eastern Communication Association 2021 Annual Conference, Virtual Conference, United States.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2021, May 27-31). “Black Lives Matter: Fear and Protest” [Conference presentation]. International Communication Association Annual Conference 2021, Virtual Conference.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2021, November 18-22). “How Knitting Became White: Analyzing 75 Years of Vogue Knitting Magazine Covers”. [Conference presentation]. National Communication Association Annual Conference 2021, Seattle, Washington, United States.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2022, April 7-10). “COVID-19 Infodemic and the Impact of Misinformation on YouTube” [Conference presentation]. Eastern Communication Association Annual Conference 2022, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2022, May 26-30). “How New Racism Masks Hate Speech Online” [Conference presentation]. International Communication Association Annual Conference 2022, Paris, France.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2023, March 29 – April 2). “Innovative Career Preparation and Choices in Higher Ed Institutions from Graduating and Newly Graduated PhDs” [Conference panel]. Eastern Communication Association Annual Conference 2023, Baltimore, Maryland, UnitedStates.
Williams-Johnson, D. (2024, March 21, 2024). “Black Women as Research Participants: How to Create a More Inclusive Perspective in Feminist Communication Research” [Conference presentation]. Eastern Communication Annual Conference 2024, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY
- Advisor to the team for the HBCU Battle of the Brains 2024, Competition in Austin, Texas
- Partnered with L’Oreal to bring the Brandstorm Competition into the Business Communications course curriculum
- Participate actively on the Technology and Case Competition Committees
MEMBERSHIPS / AFFILIATIONS
Eastern Communication Association
International Communication Association
National Communication Association
Yarn Advisory Board Member, Golden Peak Media
Dr. DWJ 