Apryl Williams

Affiliate

Dec 30

Assistant Professor, Communications & Media, Digital Studies Institute
Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

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Dr. Apryl Williams received her PhD in Sociology from Texas A&M University in 2017 with a designated focus in race, media, and culture. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication & Media and the Digital Studies Institute at the University of Michigan and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Williams theorizes digital media and digital platforms as they converge with issues concerning race / ethnicity, gender, communal identity, and popular culture. Her current book project, Call Me Master: Race, Gender & Algorithmic Inequality in Online Dating takes a mixed-methods approach to investigate racialized experiences with romantic partners and the match-making algorithms that govern the online dating process. In addition to her domestic research agenda, Williams has also conducted research on socio-political conflict, mobile phone use, and digital inequality in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her work can be found in several peer reviewed outlets including the International Journal of Communication, Social Sciences, and Information, Communication & Society. Williams also serves as Series Associate Editor of Emerald Studies in Media and Communications where she has co-edited five volumes on digital inequality, global media flows, and new media cultures. Her other academic interests include intersectionality, social theory, postmodernity, bio technologies, and embodiment.