Dana Horton

Dana Horton is an Associate Professor of English and Race, Ethnic, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at St. Olaf College, serving as Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Northeastern University and a B.A. in English and African American Studies from Temple University. Her research focuses on Black Feminist Theory, Hip Hop Studies, African American Literature, and intersections of spirituality in cultural production.

Dr. Horton advocates for pedagogical approaches using popular culture, encouraging students to connect course material to personal experiences. She co-edits The Journal of Hip Hop Studies and has published works like Gender, Genre, and Race in Post-Neo-Slave Narratives (2022) and Don’t You Fuck with My Energy, an autoethnography exploring occult spirituality in Hip Hop. Her recent scholarship critiques traditional academic frameworks and highlights marginalized narratives in cultural studies.

Her teaching portfolio includes courses like Black Science Fiction and Hip Hop Feminism. She actively challenges boundaries between academia and community through interdisciplinary approaches. Outside academia, she enjoys biking, volleyball, collecting purple items, and spontaneous walks.