Tiera Chantè Tanksley

 Dr. Tanksley earned her PhD from the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies within UCLA’s Urban Schooling program. Broadly, her research examines the intersectional impacts of race, gender, class and age on the experiences of Black girls in media, technology and education. Grounded in Black feminist technology studies and critical race theory, her robust research agenda sheds light on the ways Black girls intersect with and are intersected by media and technology systems as they attempt to navigate K-16 educational institutions. Designed in response to #BlackLives Matter and the growing presence of racialized violence online, Dr. Tanksley’s dissertation research examines the socio-academic consequences of witnessing viral Black death for the internet’s most vocal and visible users: Black women and girls. Her newest strand of research examines the ways Girls of Color leverage computer science technologies, including virtual reality software, e-textiles and robotics, to engage in political resistance within and beyond the school setting.  Overall, Dr. Tanksley’s scholarship responds to calls for more intersectional analyses of digital technology that can recognize the lived experiences, modes of resistance and technological contributions of Black girls and women around the globe. 

Dr. Tanksley’s professional background includes an MA in Cultural Studies in Education from UCLA and a BS in Education from Syracuse University. Her contributions to diversity in research were recognized by Yale University and she was inducted into the Edward Bouchet African American Honor Society in April 2017.