Joycelyn Wilson

Joycelyn Wilson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology. Joining Georgia Tech in 2017, she specializes in hip-hop studies, educational anthropology, and digital media, exploring hip-hop's intersections with innovation, design, and social justice. Her work bridges cultural studies with STEAM education, examining how hip-hop can inspire design thinking and computational media.

Wilson's research focuses on social justice-oriented humanities instruction in STEAM, hip hop, African-American music and performance, and African-American education in the South. She is particularly interested in Atlanta's cultural landscape, examining how hip-hop and design theory can be applied to secondary and post-secondary education. Her scholarship also explores the culture, race, and technology of Atlanta and broader pop culture topics.

Wilson is known for founding the HipHop2020 Archive and Maker Space, which provides curriculum resources designed to facilitate post-secondary humanities and computational media instruction through the lens of hip-hop inspired cultural practices. Her popular course LMC 3306: Science, Race, and Technology, also known as "The Education of Hip-Hop from 'Kast to Kendrick," uses music of Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, and other artists as texts to explore larger social and political issues.

Wilson's media appearances and publications demonstrate a consistent focus on hip-hop's cultural significance, Atlanta's musical influence, and the educational potential of hip-hop culture. Her recent work has examined Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter," the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and Atlanta's Freaknik festival, highlighting how Southern hip-hop culture has shaped national and global music scenes.

• Emmy-nominated documentary film producer
• Frequent contributor to The Bitter Southerner
• 2011-2012 Hiphop Archive Fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University

Wilson advises students in courses spanning Black Media Studies, Documentary Film, Music Culture & Society, and Experimental Digital Art. Her approach emphasizes how hip-hop's technological innovation—taking something and completely transforming it into something new—can inspire similar creative thinking in STEM fields. She believes culture, hip-hop, and the arts expose people to their gifts, viewing this exposure as the true essence of education.