Johnson's scholarship focuses on the media representations of African Americans
in news and entertainment, especially sports and music, as well as on women and African
Americans who work in media industries. She also specializes in hip-hop culture and rap
music. Her most recent scholarly work focuses on transgressive representations of black
men and women in low-brow and middle-brow culture. She teaches courses on television, the
press and other mass media as social and cultural institutions.
Johnson is a regular guest on the program “Mental Engineering,” which airs on public
television stations around the country.
EDUCATION: B.A., Ohio State University M.A., University of Kentucky Ph.D., University of
Minnesota
Johnson has been teaching at Macalester since 1998
