Vaughn W. M. Watson

Vaughn W. M. Watson is an Associate Professor of English Education at Michigan State University. He received his Ed.D. in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Vaughn has published more than 50 works featuring qualitative and participatory research and teaching rendering visible Black youth’s creative and artistic literacy, language, and learning practices, and the interplay of Black African immigrant youth’s literacy and civic engagement in the global African Diaspora.

Vaughn is a National Academy of Education / Spencer Foundation postdoctoral fellow; Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color fellow of the Research Foundation of the National Council of Teachers of English; and Literacy Research Association Scholars of Color Transitioning into Academic Research Institutions (STAR) mentor.

His article, “ ‘This is America”: Examining artifactual literacies as austere love across contexts of schools and everyday use,” co-authored with Joanne E. Marciano, was awarded the Outstanding Publication Award by the American Educational Research Association’s Narrative Research Special Interest Group.

Vaughn taught high-school English in New York City, and was previously pop music writer for The Providence Journal. Beyond the classroom, he has coached high-school track, and completed a 50k ultramarathon, seven 26.2-mile marathons, and numerous 13.1-mile half marathons, 10K, and 5K road races.