Dr. W. Russell Robinson is an assistant professor in the Media Studies curriculum housed in the Department of Mass Communication. His teaching interests include mass media and popular culture, gender and sexuality, Black masculinity, critical race theory, new media, media advocacy, and the politics of media representation. Dr. Robinson is the chair of the NCCU Faculty Senate, beginning July 1, 2018.
Dr. Robinson’s research concentrates on intersectionality, specifically along the lines of race, gender, class and media representation. His current research examines hashtag activism and has generated a coming book chapter (co-author), “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: The American Civil Rights Movement Goes Online,” in From Tahrir Square to Ferguson: Social Networks as Facilitators of Social Justice Movements (Peter Lang Publishing, 2018). He is also co-editor of Who’s Bad?: Depictions and Interpretations of Black Masculinity in Literature, Music, and Film (Lexington Books, 2019). In addition to presenting papers nationally and internationally, Dr. Robinson is often sought for his professional opinions on social media Black masculinity and popular culture. He has appeared in Durham Herald Sun, Ebony, Al Jazeera English, Diverse Issues in Higher Education and Wall Street Journal.
For his fellowship teaching project, Dr. Robinson led students in his American Media and Mass Pop Culture class in an exploration of black masculinity during the Obama era. His students collected interviews from black men, as well as gender studies experts, to consider masculinity from diverse perspectives, from parenting to the criminal justice system. He concluded his fellowship year by attending the Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School.