Nikki Lane is an interdisciplinary scholar trained as a Cultural and Linguistic Anthropologist. She serves as an assistant professor in the Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies program at Duke University. Her work explores issues related to American Popular Culture, African American language practices, and sexual cultures throughout the African Diaspora. She specializes in using popular culture as an entry point for discussing complex social theory. Her first book titled The Black Queer Work of Ratchet: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the (Anti)Politics of Respectability explores the use of the word “ratchet” in a community of Black queer women in Washington, DC. thedoctorlane.com.