S. Craig Watkins is an American professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a media professional involved primarily with interactions between youth culture and the digital age.
He has explored many aspects of the digital age in his work, including the effects of Hip Hop in African American communities, how gaming is connected with race, culture, and education, and the evolution of social media platforms.
[2] Watkins is also a Global Fellow for the IC², a group of individuals from around the world that work collaboratively on creative, academic, and innovative ideas.
Fellows in this program include experts in technology, commercialization, innovative management, chaos theory, entrepreneurship, alliance building, and regional economic activity.
[1] The Center seeks to integrate innovative thinkers in order to advance society’s understanding of social, cultural, historical, psychological, and scientific issues.
His book Hip Hop Matters: Politics, Pop Culture and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement gave him an almost iconic status within the hip-hop community.
[2] In February 2010, Watkins gave the opening keynote address at the first annual Digital Media and Learning Conference in La Jolla, California.
[11] The majority of the speeches and lectures given at these conferences and universities have focused on his research involving technology, media, youth, race, and society.
His writing can be found in his three books, The Young and the Digital, Hip Hop Matters, and Representing, and also on his blogs for the Huffington Post[13] and DML Central.