Olivia JohnsonVisiting Assistant Professor
Education
- PhD, Sociology; Emory University, 2024
- MA, Sociology; University of South Florida, 2017
- BA, Sociology; University of South Florida, 2014
Research
Dr. Olivia Johnson is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department, where she teaches both introductory courses and specialized courses in race and emotion. Her research specializes in the critical study of Black motherhood, surveillance, and the enduring legacies of slavery. Prior to joining our department, Dr. Johnson completed a pre-doctoral fellowship at the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference.
Dr. Johnson's work is characterized by its interdisciplinary approach, drawing on sociology, African American studies, and gender studies to explore the nuanced ways that the surveillance of Black motherhood specifically and Black intimate relationships more generally has evolved from the antebellum period to the present day. Her dissertation, titled " Invisible Bonds: Exploring the Intersections of Slavery, Surveillance, and Black Motherhood” used the “Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938” archive to examine these questions.
Teaching
- Introduction to General Sociology (SOC 101)
- Racial and Ethnic Relations (SOC 247)
- Sociology of Emotions (SOC 389)
