Carol Taylor Johnson received a B.S. in English from Langston University (HBCU), Langston, OK.  She received her MA and Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University.  Her specializations are folklore (Medical Beliefs of a Midwestern Community), rhetoric and composition, and Africana Studies.  Her work on folklore and African American literature is published in the Oxford Companion to African American Literature.  Her most recent scholarship examines the works and life of John Frederick Matheus (1887-1983), an award winning Harlem Renaissance author and founder of the International Studies program at West Virginia State.  Prior to joining the English Department at WVSU, she taught at Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH; the College of Wooster, Wooster, OH; Ohio State University-Mansfield, Mansfield, OH and the Marshall University Graduate College.   She emphasizes interdisciplinary learning in the classroom and in planning extracurricular events. Her current classes include two courses, English 324 and 325 connected to the teacher training program at WVSU, composition, African American Literature and an International Studies course entitled Diversity in Africana Studies.