Dr. Krystal Smalls

Associate Professor

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Biography

Krystal Smalls is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research specializes in Linguistic Anthropology, Sociolinguistics, and Cultural Anthropology, with a focus on African Diaspora Studies. Smalls conducts ethnographic research primarily among young people in the Black Diaspora, exploring themes such as race, semiotics, digital space, gender, and language ideology. One of her notable works, 'Telling Blackness: Young Liberians Raciosemiotics Contemporary Black Diaspora', will be published by Oxford University Press in 2024. The book offers a transdisciplinary ethnographic account of meaning-making practices among Liberian young women, challenging conventional narratives and power dynamics surrounding Black life. She critically examines the use of language in digital spaces and the implications for public discourse around antiblack ideologies. Smalls has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (2015) and a BS from Cornell University (2000).

Research Interests

Requirements for University of Illinois

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:17
Reading
Required:19
Writing
Required:21
Speaking
Required:20
Total
Required:103
GRE General
Prerequisites
Mathematical background Linear Algebra Calculus
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Unofficial transcripts
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • Academic Statement of Purpose
  • Resume/CV
Specialization Notes

GRE is optional for admission to all graduate programs in Statistics. Full status admission requires higher language scores than limited status.