Bryce Henson

Dr. Bryce Henson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication & Journalism at Texas A&M University, with an affiliation in the Africana Studies Program. He holds a PhD in Communications & Media from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, focusing on cultural studies and interpretative theory. His research bridges African Diaspora studies, global Black intellectual traditions, and media analysis, with a particular focus on Brazil and the Caribbean.

Education:

• PhD in Communications & Media (Cultural Studies), University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Graduate Minor in Latin American & Caribbean Studies

Research: Henson examines Black cultural production in Brazil, including hip-hop, urban studies, and marronage/aquilombamento. His book Emergent Quilombos: Black Life and Hip-Hop in Brazil (2023) earned multiple awards, including the NCA Book of the Year Award. Current projects explore Brazilian Carnival’s entanglement with racialized violence and Lélia Gonzalez’s amefricanidade theory to analyze Pan-African connections beyond North America and Africa.

Awards:

• 2024 NCA Critical/Cultural Studies Division Book Award
• 2024 NCA Ethnography Division Best Book Award
• 2024 Roberto Reis First Book Prize Honorable Mention

Teaching & Grants: Henson teaches courses on Black media, global media, and critical ethnography. He received a 2023 Fulbright Distinguished Chair to research Brazilian Carnival at Universidade Federal da Bahia (2024). He advises students on qualitative methods and social justice research.

Professional Roles: Advisory board member for the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD), Associate Editor of Transforming Anthropology, and active member of NCA, ASA, and BRASA.