Georgetown University today announced the appointment of Michael Eric Dyson as University Professor. He will teach a broad range of courses on subjects that explore the boundaries among religion, culture, and society.

Dyson is a renowned scholar, ordained Baptist minister and public intellectual. His innovative scholarship, combining cultural criticism and biography, focuses on race, religion, popular culture, and contemporary issues in the African American community.

"Professor Dyson is an intellectual leader in society and academia," said Georgetown University Provost James J. O'Donnell. "At Georgetown we look forward to his continued societal impact and anticipate the contributions he will make to enhance our vibrant academic community."

Dyson's 15th book, released this month, Know What I Mean? is a critical study of hip hop music, addressing issues ranging from the music's creative expression to the global exposure, commercialization and politicization of rap music and its most influential figures. His previous book, published earlier this year, Debating Race, is a compilation of previously unpublished conversations with scholars, politicians and public commentators. He has also authored Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster; Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?, The Michael Eric Dyson Reader, Open Mike; Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur; Why I Love Black Women; I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr.; Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line; Between God and Gangsta Rap; Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X; and Reflecting Black.

Prior to coming to Georgetown, Dyson was the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught at the DePaul University, Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of North Carolina, and Columbia and Brown universities.

Dyson holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University.