Apollo Johnson

MS in anthropology -- Illinois State University
Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society
BA in anthropology, minor in identity studies -- Beloit College

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• Email

Discord: apollowo

• CV / Resume

THESIS

"The Music and the Misery"
Anthropology MS thesis
(More will be added here as I finalize my thesis work)

• Read Here (soon!)

Award-Winning Photography

Click/tap on each to view its abstract and learn more!

United in Pride
Image of Research 2025 (1st place)

Orange Haze
Image of Research 2024 (3rd place)

About the Image of Research Competition:Each year the Office of Student Research hosts the Image of Research at Illinois State Competition. Graduate and undergraduate students from across campus are invited to submit one static image of their research, innovation, or creative inquiry, along with a short abstract that explains the image and its connection to their project. Entries are then evaluated by professional artists and creatives who judge the submissions for visual impact, uniqueness, and clarity of connection between image, text, and project.

Click below to view the competition gallery pages for each piece:

• United in Pride
• Orange Haze

Other Visual Work

Section is a work-in-progress at the moment!

Click/tap on each to learn more!

• (click here to learn more about this video)

• Next (United in Pride)
• Home

Orange Haze -- 3rd Place in the 2024 Image of Research Competition at Illinois State University

Abstract:
My research documents the culture at punk, emo, and metal concerts. These genres often promote direct action, activism and anti-establishment beliefs, giving them a negative public image. At this venue, the singer used harsh vocal styles while attendees mirrored the energy with pushing, screaming, and crowd-surfing, even in the back. While the singer screamed into the microphone, a girl near me stopped jumping and headbanging to yell that she'd lost her ID. Everyone in the area instantly held their arms out to make a large, open circle. Several pulled out phone flashlights to help search. Upon finding her ID, everyone continued their high-energy dancing and yelling as if nothing had interrupted them. She held up her hand in the "rock on" sign, sharp acrylic nails standing out against the fire and fog on stage. She and other attendees expressed to me that these shows are safer than their daily lives.

• Competition gallery page

About the Image of Research Competition:Each year the Office of Student Research hosts the Image of Research at Illinois State Competition. Graduate and undergraduate students from across campus are invited to submit one static image of their research, innovation, or creative inquiry, along with a short abstract that explains the image and its connection to their project. Entries are then evaluated by professional artists and creatives who judge the submissions for visual impact, uniqueness, and clarity of connection between image, text, and project.

• Next (Orange Haze)
• Home

United in Pride -- 1st Place in the 2025 Image of Research Competition at Illinois State University

Abstract:
My research documents the culture at "emo" music concerts. The emo genre is a cousin to goth and punk, and lyrics often tell emotional stories about heartbreak, acceptance, and death. One of my research goals is to document the importance of emo music to LGBTQ fans, who often encounter those themes in their own lives. The concert pictured here took place during a period when several U.S. states were voting on anti-queer bills. While waiting for the show to begin, I noted that fans around me were wearing pride pins on their hats, jackets, and bags. Near the end of the set, the singer announced that homophobia has no place at their shows. The guitarist held up his guitar in support, silhouetted against the fog that had started to fill the stage. Screams erupted from audience members, their hair glowing from the rainbow of lights shining down on them.

• Featured in the Redbird Scholar
• Competition gallery page

About the Image of Research Competition:Each year the Office of Student Research hosts the Image of Research at Illinois State Competition. Graduate and undergraduate students from across campus are invited to submit one static image of their research, innovation, or creative inquiry, along with a short abstract that explains the image and its connection to their project. Entries are then evaluated by professional artists and creatives who judge the submissions for visual impact, uniqueness, and clarity of connection between image, text, and project.

• Home

about/info coming soon!

EDUCATION

Master of Science in Anthropology (2025)
Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society
Illinois State University (Normal, IL)Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (2019)
Minor in Critical Identity Studies
Dean's List
Beloit College (Beloit, WI)ACM Chicago Program: Arts, Entrepeneurship and Social Justice (2018)
Chicago, ILCoding Bootcamp Certificate (2020)
Coding Temple (Chicago, IL)

COURSEWORK (ISU)

Advanced Ethnographic MethodsPlagues, Pandemics, and PeopleSymbols in American CultureSocial TheoryResearch Design in AnthropologyMedia and Visual AnthropologyAdvanced Study of Asian AmericaDigital Post ProductionIndependent Study (Ethnomusicology)

COURSEWORK (BELOIT)

Research Design in AnthropologyEthnomusicologyIdentity and MediaThinking QueerlyMasculinitiesAnthropology of WhitenessStarcross(dress)ed LoversTaste, Preference, and DistinctionVisual Anthropology

“The Music and the Misery” -- MS anthropology thesis (Illinois State University, IL)1. Conducted ethnographic fieldwork in online and offline spaces
2. Integrated myself within a specific music community for two years, utilizing participant-observation strategies to learn about the community from the view of a participant
3. Conducted, recorded, and transcribed 24 ethnographic interviews with members of the community
4. Spoke to dozens of community members at festivals and concerts, recording information and personal stories within a notebook
5. Analyzed interview transcripts and notes to find larger themes within respondents’ personal stories and data

• view here

Being Welcoming: Community Engaged Research on Immigration to Bloomington-Normal -- Research project and report for the BN Welcoming group, for Advanced Ethnographic Methods (ANT 402)
BN Welcoming is a group that focuses on making Bloomington-Normal more welcoming for immigrants.1. Collaborated with peers and the BN Welcoming group to design a project to improve the welfare of, and accessibility for, immigrants in Bloomington-Normal, IL
2. Received CITI training for human-subjects research
3. Worked with Illinois State University's IRB to develop research methods and interview questions
4. Conducted several ethnographic interviews with residents of Bloomington-Normal to learn more about their personal immigration stories, what needs of theirs were not being met, and what they thought BN Welcoming needed to improve on
5. Results are currently being used by the BN Welcoming group to improve their community outreach, resource lists, website, and more

“Minority Voices in Eurovision” -- Research paper and presentation for Ethnomusicology (ANTH 160)
Eurovision is an annual international music competition that currently features talent from 37 countries.1. Gathered data about the spoken language in songs performed by winners and finalists at Eurovision, from 1956-2017
2. Also collected data about their personal identities (race, gender, sexuality, etc.), and organized data within Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
3. Conducted statistical analysis of the data, with a particular focus on finalists and winners whose songs were in a non-English language
4. Found that Eurovision heavily favored performers who sang in the English language, and that those who sang in a non-English language were treated poorly by judges and audience members
5. Also found that LGBT and non-white participants were heavily underrepresented in the finalists overall
6. Presented these findings to the class and professor

HIV/AIDS: Disease Handbook -- for Plagues, Pandemics, and People (ANT 462)1. Led and managed a team project about HIV/AIDS, eventually producing a handbook deliverable
2. Conducted epidemiological research about HIV/AIDS, learning about its origins, symptoms, treatments, cultural impact, and more
3. Researched several aspects of HIV/AIDS: etiology, ethnographic accounts, literature and artwork that features HIV/AIDS as a topic, and music and performances that feature HIV/AIDS as a topic
4. Oversaw research, data collection, and writing of team members
5. Edited team members’ work before submission, making sure data was accurate and writing style was consistent between team members
6. Produced a "disease handbook" with sections for each research aspect

• view here

Thesis Proposal and Proposal Presentation -- for Research Desiogn in Anthropology (ANT 460)1. Worked with Illinois State University's IRB to design research methods and interview questions
2. Produced and presented a research proposal with sections about research questions, research methods, interview questions, ethical considerations, research limitations, personal reflexivity, and expected conclusions
3. Produced a literature review that laid the foundation of the thesis research and guided data collection during the thesis process

“The Impact of Slenderman: Interaction and Identity Formation within an Online Horror Community” -- Research paper for Visual Anthropology (ANTH 275)
Slenderman is a fictitious being from 2009, who has gained a large following in online fandom spaces. There are several narrative-heavy YouTube webseries about Slenderman, shot in a found-footage style.1. Conducted short interviews with Slenderman webseries creators and members of their audience, asking questions about their interactions with their audience
2. Gathered ethnographic data from public posts on websites with large Slenderman audiences (Tumblr, SomethingAwful), with a focus on audience members who created fan content (art, fiction, etc.)
3. Analyzed all data and found that a significant amount of the audience felt personal connections with characters from Slenderman-related media, as well as other horror-related media
4. Discovered the level of impact that Slenderman-related media had on fans; for example, reported that several members started using characters' names as their own names
5. Found that artists and fanfiction writers within Slenderman fan communities played a major role in advertisement for Slenderman-themed media

"Archaeology of Climate Change: Stories of Human Survival” exhibit at the Logan Museum of Anthropology -- Physical exhibit for Bioarchaeology of Climate Change (ANTH 375)1. Weeks of dedicated research (offline and online)
2. Measured exhibit spaces, constructed shelves and platforms, installed screens to display electronic content, and placed artifacts in their physical spots
3. Selected specific artifacts from a catalogue of 350k artifacts
4. Created the style guide for exhibit labels, with a focus on written clarity and visual design
5. Trained peers in Adobe Photoshop (our design program of choice)
6. Edited various Wikipedia articles to be more accurate about health and climate change

"Beloit College's 1930 Expedition to Algeria" exhibit -- Digital exhibit for Creating Digital Archives (HIST/MUST 295)1. Used Omeka software and WordPress to create an online digital exhibit about Beloit College's 1930 expedition to Algeria
2. Handled fragile content (books, articles, photography, microfiche) from the Beloit College archives
3. Digitally preserved the fragile content from the archives
4. Wrote new text descriptions and summaries to give context for materials

“Favoritism and Discrimination in the NYT Best Sellers List” -- Research and symposium presentation for Quantitative Theory & Technique (ANTH 240)1. Went through every monthly NYT Best Sellers List from 2000-2019, gathering data about the identities represented by authors and their book characters (race, gender, sexuality, etc.)
2. Used Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to keep track of data
3. Performed statistical analysis of data using Stata and SPSS
4. Discovered that there was a significant bias towards specific identities of authors and their characters
5. Presented at a symposium about how the quantity and promotion length of books with minority representation grew and/or shrank over time
6. Presented how the NYT Best Sellers List is misleading and the list curators have their own biases; the books that appear on their lists are not necessarily the books that sell well

Kuru: Disease Handbook -- for Plagues, Pandemics, and People (ANT 462)
Kuru is a disease similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which impacted specific cultural groups in Papua New Guinea.1. Conducted epidemiological research about Kuru: origins, symptoms, treatments, cultural impact, and more
2. Researched Kuru's etiology, history, geography, linguistics, relation to religious practices, ethnographic accounts, past studies, and media representations
3. Designed and produced a "disease handbook" about Kuru with sections for each research aspect
4. Created diagrams in Microsoft Suite to visually represent various data

• view here

“Rainbow Language” -- Research project designed in Research Design (ANTH 201), completed and presented during the ACM Chicago Program1. Using Google Forms, designed a survey that would find and highlight linguistic differences between older and younger members of the LGBT community
2. Worked with Beloit College's IRB to finalize research methods and survey questions
3. Surveyed students, friends, and personal blog site followers (around 300 total anonymous participants) to learn their personal thoughts on different types of LGBT-focused language
4. After seeing that survey results had a heavy bias towards a younger demographic, worked with the IRB to plan and conduct interviews with older members of the Chicago LGBT community
5. Found that there was a general miscommunication about specific terms, between generations

“Transparency” -- Research project for Identity and Media (CRIS 266)
Transparent is an Amazon TV show that follows the life of a family after one of the parents comes out as transgender.1. Collected data from reviews of Amazon's TV show "Transparent," recording audience responses that pertain to the LGBT themes within the show
2. Analyzed reviews to find general trends from users on each website (Tumblr, Twitter)
3. Analyzed trends and found that users on each website had different collective thoughts about the show; for example, one website praised specific scenes while the other heavily criticized them and provided their own rewrites of scenes

Graduate Teaching Assistant -- Illinois State University (Normal, IL)1. Assisted professors in grading assignments and exams for undergraduate courses in anthropology
2. Provided weekly individual help sessions for undergraduate students
3. Conducted collaborative research with a graduate peer, then conducted lectures based on research, for an anthropology class of undergraduate and graduate students
4. Worked one-on-one with undergraduate students to improve writing and study habits, and to identify other areas of improvement

Anthropology Department Assistant -- Beloit College (Beloit, WI)1. Assisted in the deaccession of a collection of Southwest American artifacts being held in the anthropology department
2. Organized, photographed, and prepared each artifact for shipment within a short time frame
3. Created a cloud-based drive and uploaded photographs of each artifact for archive purposes

Archival and Curatorial Intern -- INTUIT: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (Chicago, IL)1. Handled a large database of art, books, and materials for inventory and archiving in Excel and LibraryWorld software
2. Updated the LibraryWorld archive of over a thousand books in INTUIT’s collection, improving the usability of the search engine and archive
3. Assisted tour guides with providing information to guests, focusing on how artists’ “outsider” identities impact the art they create
4. Assisted the museum curators in handling, transporting, and installing exhibit art and materials

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Chef Instructor and Chef Assistant -- Sur La Table (Skokie, IL)1. Taught classes about global cultures using specific culinary methods and ingredients
2. Demonstrated and assisted students with specialized techniques
3. Lead classes during primary instructor's absense

RELATED CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITES

Japan Cultural Exchange Program -- Kokusai Joho High School, Niigata and other regions in Japan (2015)1. Traveled to Chūgoku, Tōhoku, Kantō, Kansai, Chūbu, and Kyūshū regions
2. Stayed with a host family and shadowed a student at school
3. Participated in cultural tea ceremonies, visited shrines, visited the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park, and more

Illinios State University Research Symposium 2025
1. (coming soon)

Illinios State University WGSS (Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) Symposium 2025
1. (coming soon)

EDUCATION

Master of Science in Anthropology (2025)
Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society
Illinois State University (Normal, IL)Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (2019)
Minor in Critical Identity Studies
Dean's List
Beloit College (Beloit, WI)ACM Chicago Program: Arts, Entrepeneurship and Social Justice (2018)
Chicago, ILCoding Bootcamp Certificate (2020)
Coding Temple (Chicago, IL)

COURSEWORK (ISU)

Advanced Ethnographic MethodsPlagues, Pandemics, and PeopleSymbols in American CultureSocial TheoryResearch Design in AnthropologyMedia and Visual AnthropologyAdvanced Study of Asian AmericaDigital Post ProductionIndependent Study (Ethnomusicology)

COURSEWORK (BELOIT)

Research Design in AnthropologyEthnomusicologyIdentity and MediaThinking QueerlyMasculinitiesAnthropology of WhitenessStarcross(dress)ed LoversTaste, Preference, and DistinctionVisual Anthropology

“The Music and the Misery” -- MS anthropology thesis (Illinois State University, IL)1. Conducted ethnographic fieldwork in online and offline spaces
2. Integrated myself within a specific music community for two years, utilizing participant-observation strategies to learn about the community from the view of a participant
3. Conducted, recorded, and transcribed 24 ethnographic interviews with members of the community
4. Spoke to dozens of community members at festivals and concerts, recording information and personal stories within a notebook
5. Analyzed interview transcripts and notes to find larger themes within respondents’ personal stories and data

Being Welcoming: Community Engaged Research on Immigration to Bloomington-Normal -- Research project and report for the BN Welcoming group, for Advanced Ethnographic Methods (ANT 402)
BN Welcoming is a group that focuses on making Bloomington-Normal more welcoming for immigrants.1. Collaborated with peers and the BN Welcoming group to design a project to improve the welfare of, and accessibility for, immigrants in Bloomington-Normal, IL
2. Received CITI training for human-subjects research
3. Worked with Illinois State University's IRB to develop research methods and interview questions
4. Conducted several ethnographic interviews with residents of Bloomington-Normal to learn more about their personal immigration stories, what needs of theirs were not being met, and what they thought BN Welcoming needed to improve on
5. Results are currently being used by the BN Welcoming group to improve their community outreach, resource lists, website, and more

“Minority Voices in Eurovision” -- Research paper and presentation for Ethnomusicology (ANTH 160)
Eurovision is an annual international music competition that currently features talent from 37 countries.1. Gathered data about the spoken language in songs performed by winners and finalists at Eurovision, from 1956-2017
2. Also collected data about their personal identities (race, gender, sexuality, etc.), and organized data within Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets
3. Conducted statistical analysis of the data, with a particular focus on finalists and winners whose songs were in a non-English language
4. Found that Eurovision heavily favored performers who sang in the English language, and that those who sang in a non-English language were treated poorly by judges and audience members
5. Also found that LGBT and non-white participants were heavily underrepresented in the finalists overall
6. Presented these findings to the class and professor

HIV/AIDS: Disease Handbook -- for Plagues, Pandemics, and People (ANT 462)1. Led and managed a team project about HIV/AIDS, eventually producing a handbook deliverable
2. Conducted epidemiological research about HIV/AIDS, learning about its origins, symptoms, treatments, cultural impact, and more
3. Researched several aspects of HIV/AIDS: etiology, ethnographic accounts, literature and artwork that features HIV/AIDS as a topic, and music and performances that feature HIV/AIDS as a topic
4. Oversaw research, data collection, and writing of team members
5. Edited team members’ work before submission, making sure data was accurate and writing style was consistent between team members
6. Produced a "disease handbook" with sections for each research aspect

Thesis Proposal and Proposal Presentation -- for Research Desiogn in Anthropology (ANT 460)1. Worked with Illinois State University's IRB to design research methods and interview questions
2. Produced and presented a research proposal with sections about research questions, research methods, interview questions, ethical considerations, research limitations, personal reflexivity, and expected conclusions
3. Produced a literature review that laid the foundation of the thesis research and guided data collection during the thesis process

“The Impact of Slenderman: Interaction and Identity Formation within an Online Horror Community” -- Research paper for Visual Anthropology (ANTH 275)
Slenderman is a fictitious being from 2009, who has gained a large following in online fandom spaces. There are several narrative-heavy YouTube webseries about Slenderman, shot in a found-footage style.1. Conducted short interviews with Slenderman webseries creators and members of their audience, asking questions about their interactions with their audience
2. Gathered ethnographic data from public posts on websites with large Slenderman audiences (Tumblr, SomethingAwful), with a focus on audience members who created fan content (art, fiction, etc.)
3. Analyzed all data and found that a significant amount of the audience felt personal connections with characters from Slenderman-related media, as well as other horror-related media
4. Discovered the level of impact that Slenderman-related media had on fans; for example, reported that several members started using characters' names as their own names
5. Found that artists and fanfiction writers within Slenderman fan communities played a major role in advertisement for Slenderman-themed media

"Archaeology of Climate Change: Stories of Human Survival” exhibit at the Logan Museum of Anthropology -- Physical exhibit for Bioarchaeology of Climate Change (ANTH 375)1. Weeks of dedicated research (offline and online)
2. Measured exhibit spaces, constructed shelves and platforms, installed screens to display electronic content, and placed artifacts in their physical spots
3. Selected specific artifacts from a catalogue of 350k artifacts
4. Created the style guide for exhibit labels, with a focus on written clarity and visual design
5. Trained peers in Adobe Photoshop (our design program of choice)
6. Edited various Wikipedia articles to be more accurate about health and climate change

"Beloit College's 1930 Expedition to Algeria" exhibit -- Digital exhibit for Creating Digital Archives (HIST/MUST 295)1. Used Omeka software and WordPress to create an online digital exhibit about Beloit College's 1930 expedition to Algeria
2. Handled fragile content (books, articles, photography, microfiche) from the Beloit College archives
3. Digitally preserved the fragile content from the archives
4. Wrote new text descriptions and summaries to give context for materials

“Favoritism and Discrimination in the NYT Best Sellers List” -- Research and symposium presentation for Quantitative Theory & Technique (ANTH 240)1. Went through every monthly NYT Best Sellers List from 2000-2019, gathering data about the identities represented by authors and their book characters (race, gender, sexuality, etc.)
2. Used Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to keep track of data
3. Performed statistical analysis of data using Stata and SPSS
4. Discovered that there was a significant bias towards specific identities of authors and their characters
5. Presented at a symposium about how the quantity and promotion length of books with minority representation grew and/or shrank over time
6. Presented how the NYT Best Sellers List is misleading and the list curators have their own biases; the books that appear on their lists are not necessarily the books that sell well

Kuru: Disease Handbook -- for Plagues, Pandemics, and People (ANT 462)
Kuru is a disease similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which impacted specific cultural groups in Papua New Guinea.1. Conducted epidemiological research about Kuru: origins, symptoms, treatments, cultural impact, and more
2. Researched Kuru's etiology, history, geography, linguistics, relation to religious practices, ethnographic accounts, past studies, and media representations
3. Designed and produced a "disease handbook" about Kuru with sections for each research aspect
4. Created diagrams in Microsoft Suite to visually represent various data

“Rainbow Language” -- Research project designed in Research Design (ANTH 201), completed and presented during the ACM Chicago Program1. Using Google Forms, designed a survey that would find and highlight linguistic differences between older and younger members of the LGBT community
2. Worked with Beloit College's IRB to finalize research methods and survey questions
3. Surveyed students, friends, and personal blog site followers (around 300 total anonymous participants) to learn their personal thoughts on different types of LGBT-focused language
4. After seeing that survey results had a heavy bias towards a younger demographic, worked with the IRB to plan and conduct interviews with older members of the Chicago LGBT community
5. Found that there was a general miscommunication about specific terms, between generations

“Transparency” -- Research project for Identity and Media (CRIS 266)
Transparent is an Amazon TV show that follows the life of a family after one of the parents comes out as transgender.1. Collected data from reviews of Amazon's TV show "Transparent," recording audience responses that pertain to the LGBT themes within the show
2. Analyzed reviews to find general trends from users on each website (Tumblr, Twitter)
3. Analyzed trends and found that users on each website had different collective thoughts about the show; for example, one website praised specific scenes while the other heavily criticized them and provided their own rewrites of scenes

Graduate Teaching Assistant -- Illinois State University (Normal, IL)1. Assisted professors in grading assignments and exams for undergraduate courses in anthropology
2. Provided weekly individual help sessions for undergraduate students
3. Conducted collaborative research with a graduate peer, then conducted lectures based on research, for an anthropology class of undergraduate and graduate students
4. Worked one-on-one with undergraduate students to improve writing and study habits, and to identify other areas of improvement

Anthropology Department Assistant -- Beloit College (Beloit, WI)1. Assisted in the deaccession of a collection of Southwest American artifacts being held in the anthropology department
2. Organized, photographed, and prepared each artifact for shipment within a short time frame
3. Created a cloud-based drive and uploaded photographs of each artifact for archive purposes

Archival and Curatorial Intern -- INTUIT: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (Chicago, IL)1. Handled a large database of art, books, and materials for inventory and archiving in Excel and LibraryWorld software
2. Updated the LibraryWorld archive of over a thousand books in INTUIT’s collection, improving the usability of the search engine and archive
3. Assisted tour guides with providing information to guests, focusing on how artists’ “outsider” identities impact the art they create
4. Assisted the museum curators in handling, transporting, and installing exhibit art and materials