Lloyd, an associate professor of African and African American studies and film and media studies, explores the role of non-traditional activism and social media algorithms.
Raven Maragh-Lloyd knew that building an academic career around the constantly evolving fields of politics, culture, and technology would require a focus on the bigger picture: “I learned early in my career that I chose to study a moving target.”
Joining WashU in 2021 as an assistant professor of African and African American studies and film and media studies was a “dream job,” allowing her to focus on both areas equally as she explored culture, race, and Blackness in digital media.
In 2024, Maragh-Lloyd published her first book, “Black Networked Resistance: Strategic Rearticulations in the Digital Age,” a counter-narrative to mainstream ideas about Black activism during the early years of the Black Lives Matter movement. “I wanted to make visible the non-traditional forms of activism that I saw Black users engaging in online that weren’t getting as much traction and legitimization,” she said.
Combining case studies and focus groups with an analysis of more than 1,000 Instagram and Twitter posts, Maragh-Lloyd has been able to explore the role of memes, humor, and play as methods for critiquing racism.
She also took a leading role in a three-year, $1.7 million project from the Department of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative, which aimed to study online influence campaigns and misinformation. While the project was recently halted by a round of government cuts, Maragh-Lloyd and collaborators plan to use surveys and focus groups in the U.S., Ukraine, and Kenya to examine how people perceive algorithms and the accuracy of online information.
Maragh-Lloyd is especially interested in understanding user engagement. “What societal, legal, and cultural factors lead you to tweet the way you tweet? Are there certain phrases that you don’t use, or searches you don’t make, because you’re concerned about being flagged?”
“You can’t get that information just by looking at a platform,” she said. “You have to talk to people.” This focus on digital transformation extends to her classroom, where Maragh-Lloyd teaches “Cultural Analysis of Social Media Algorithms,” a film and media studies course that encourages undergraduates to bring their own expertise and lived experiences to the classroom as they explore how technology interacts with society.
While digital technology and social media platforms continue to evolve at a rapid pace, Maragh-Lloyd has found a way to navigate the turbulent waters by focusing on human connection. “When you focus on people over platforms, you don’t have to chase the latest tech disruption.”
This story is a part of a larger feature about WashU’s digital transformation initiative, which appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Ampersand magazine. See more stories from the magazine and browse our archives.
