Chelsea Johnson, Ph.D.
Sociologist Chelsea M.E. Johnson, Ph.D., will speak at Illinois State University about her studies into the meanings and politics of Blackness and the influence on children’s literature during two talks on January 23. Part of the Children’s Studies Minor Speaker Series, the events are free and open to the public.
Johnson, a user experience researcher at LinkedIn, is part of the CLC Collective, a partnership of three women of color scholars committed to publishing creative, relatable, and engaging sociology for all ages.
Her first talk, titled “Global Movements, Local Meanings: Black Girls,” will be at 11 a.m. in Edwards Hall, room 235. Johnson will focus on her research with students at Pretoria Girls’ School in South Africa to describe how a generation deploys natural hair politics to portray the gendered experience of white supremacist colonialism in post-apartheid schools.
The second talk, titled “Moving Beyond Academic Borders: The Radical Potential of Intersectional Feminist Children’s Literature,” will be at 7 p.m. in Schroeder Hall, room 244. Johnson will discuss the CLC Collective’s inspiration to pen the first children’s book focused on intersectionality at the height of the #MeToo protests. Johnson will give a reading from the book, IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All.
Johnson earned a Ph.D. in sociology with a graduate certificate in gender studies from the University of Southern California. More can be found about her scholarship and studies at www.chelseamejohnson.com.
The talks are funded by an Interdisciplinary Initiative Grant from Illinois State’s College of Arts and Sciences and co-sponsored by the Department of Psychology and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Those who need special accommodations to attend can contact the Department of Psychology at (309) 438-8651.
