Latoya Lee, Ph.D. 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Latoya Lee received her B.A. and accelerated M.A. degree in Sociology from St. John’s University, and her Ph.D. in Sociology at SUNY Binghamton, where she was awarded a competitive diversity fellowship. As a scholar, her research focuses on the ways in which people of color use social media for political organizing, social transformation, the (re)making of value systems and resistant possibilities.

Lee’s scholarly contributions have explored a variety of online communities, including Black Twitter, the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQIA+ digital activism, and natural hair blogs. Her analysis sheds light on how these spaces foster solidarity, activism, and identity formation, while also grappling with the dynamics of digital surveillance and trolling. Her research is situated within broader discussions about digital literacy, examining how BIPOC communities navigate the complex terrain of online harassment, algorithmic bias, and the surveillance of marginalized groups.

Her teaching and research are driven by a commitment to racial and gender equity, the diversification of academia, and the creation of inclusive, supportive digital spaces for underrepresented communities. In this regard, Lee’s work also critically addresses the intersection of digital media and social justice, offering insight into how the internet can be both a site of empowerment and a battleground for racial and gendered harassment.

PUBLICATIONS

Lee, L. (2026). Revisiting Black Twitter: The Pandemic’s Impact on Protests in 2020. In K. Patel, A. Caranto Morford, and A. Jacob (Eds.), Anti-colonial Relations: Co-Liberating Worlds in Digital Humanities Pedagogy and Praxis. Punctum Books.

Lee, L. (2022). Why is There a Black Twitter and a Gay Twitter?: The Role of Social Media Play in Making Categories of Difference Visible. In C. Harris & S. McClure (Eds.), Inequality: Intersections IRL, (pp. 299-316). Sage Publications.

Lee, L., Sinclair, A.K. & Chichester, T. (2019). Paying it Forward: Pedagogical Lessons from Dr. Rod Bush. In Bush, M.E.L., Brewer, R. Newby, R. & Douglas, D. (Eds.), Living for Love, Fighting for Justice: Lessons from the Life Force of Roderick Douglas Bush, (pp. 103-110) Belmont, MA: Ahead Publishing House.

Lee, L. (2017). Black Twitter: A Response to Bias in Mainstream Media. Social Media, Internet and Society (Special Issue) 6 (1), 26; doi: 10.3390/socsci6010026.

Lee, L. (2015). Virtual Homeplace: (Re)Constructing the Body through Social Media. In K. Edwards Tassie and S.M. Brown Givens (Eds.), Women of Color and Social Media Multitasking: Blogs, Timelines, Feeds, and Community, (pp. 91-111). Kentucky: Lexington Books.

 

OTHER SCHOLARLY WORK

Lee, L. (2023, April 17). We Ready for a Black Mermaid!: How Black Twitter Challenges White Supremacist Imaginations. Ms. Magazine Online. https://msmagazine.com/2023/04/17/the-little-mermaid-halle-bailey-black-twitter/.

Lee, L. (Fall 2022). Review of the films Coded Bias, Digital Warriors and World of Apps. Films for the Feminist Classroom, 11.2, Fall 2022. http://ffc.twu.edu/issue_11-2/rev_Lee_11-2.html.

Lee, L. (2020). Review of the book Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization by Paul Almeida. American Ethnologist, 46(2), 334-335.

Lee, L. (2011). Kathleen Neal Cleaver. In Facts on File: Encyclopedia on African American History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.