About
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 at the University of Michigan, a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and an Affiliated Researcher at New York University’s Center for Critical Race + Digital Studies. Williams theorizes digital media and digital platforms as they converge with issues concerning race / ethnicity, gender, collective identities, and popular culture. She has also conducted research on socio-political conflict, mobile phone use, and digital inequality in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 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. 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.
