Katrina Overby
Assistant Professor
Katrina Overby
Assistant Professor
Bio
Dr. Katrina M. Overby is an activist scholar whose research centers Black feminist thought, media studies, and critical cultural communication. Her work explores Black digital cultures and communities—particularly how Black women use social media, storytelling, and placemaking as strategies for belonging, resistance, and care. She is especially interested in how digital and in-person spaces serve as sites for Black women’s communal connection and sisterhood.
Her scholarship has been published in Gatherings, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and the Journal of Sports Media, in addition to publishing book chapters in several edited books. She is also the co-editor of a recent special issue in Feminist Pedagogy, and is committed to examining and cultivating engaged pedagogy within communication education.
In 2025, Dr. Overby was honored with the 2024-2025 Isaac L. Jordan Sr. Faculty Pluralism Award at RIT for her contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion through her scholarship, service, and community engagement.
A proud native of Indianapolis, Indiana, she holds a Ph.D. in Journalism from Indiana University, an M.S. in Mass Communications and Media Management from Oklahoma State University, and a B.A. in Mass Communications and Broadcast Journalism from Rust College, an HBCU in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
Dr. Overby is currently the Vice Chair of the African American Communication and Culture Division (AACCD) of the National Communication Association (NCA). Additionally, she serves on the editorial board for Gatherings journal.
Recent Publications:
The Mini Syllabus: Locating and Engaging with Black Women in Popular Culture published in Feminist Pedagogy
Breaking Bread with Storyworlding Methodology: Black feminist/womanist Commentary on Unearthing Communal Lifeworlds published in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
The Familiar Feels Like Family: A Black Feminists' Approach to Placemaking and Gathering for Black Women in the Academy published in Gatherings
Currently Teaching
In the News
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May 10, 2024
Bright Spot: Inspiration for young scholars
WHAM-TV features Katrina Overby, assistant professor in the School of Communication, as its Bright Spot.
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April 25, 2024
Informed voting in the age of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered the election—globally. To help voters navigate these advancements in social media, deepfakes, manipulated images, and cybersecurity, a few RIT experts are weighing in.
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October 2, 2023
RIT Faculty Host Inaugural Sister Scholars Connect Writing Retreat
Only two percent of full professors at US colleges and universities are Black women, according to National Center for Education Statistics data, and Black faculty as a whole make up about six percent of all faculty. During the Sister Scholars Connect Writing Retreat held last month at RIT’s Tait Preserve, more than 30 Black women faculty from throughout the region met for a day of scholarly writing, collaboration, mentoring, and support.
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March 24, 2025
Overby to deliver keynote
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January 10, 2025
Overby featured in award-winning documentary and podcast
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October 21, 2024
Overby publishes essay on Black community care
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August 19, 2024
Overby joins editorial board and publishes in ‘Gatherings’