Charles Norton is a linguist, interdisciplinary researcher, and Hip Hop teaching artist originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He holds a PhD in Aesthetics from Université Paris Nanterre, an MA in French & Anthropology from the University of Arizona, and a BA in Caribbean Culture & World Literature from Indiana University—Bloomington.
As a language and cultural specialist, Norton has consulted for Microsoft India, AXA Banque in France, and the Seattle Sounders and Seattle Reign Football Clubs. In the world of professional sports, his clients include the captain of Haiti’s 2023 FIFA World Cup team, the 2014 FA Women’s Player of the Year, the 2016 MLS Newcomer of the Year, the 2019 MLS Cup MVP, and players representing Uruguay, Cameroon, and South Korea at multiple FIFA World Cups.
In his research, Norton uses multi-sited ethnography and Community-Based Participatory Research to investigate human rights and empowerment in global Hip Hop cultures. His works have been published as peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and industry reports in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. He authored the first comprehensive annual human rights report for the Mediterranean nation of Malta and is currently revising monograph projects in English and French.
As an artist and curator, Norton uses Hip Hop cultures to teach foreign languages (e.g., English, French, Spanish, Kreyol, and Arabic), sustainable fashion design, jewelry making, and Black & Indigenous histories that have been erased by white supremacy. His regular collaborators include the Neoglyphix All Indigenous Aerosol Art Exhibition, the Atlanta University Center, the Gullah Geechee Futures Project, HipHopedia, Liquid Bridge, and the American Cultural Association of Morocco.
Beyond the University of Arizona, Norton has been a full-time faculty, fellow, and administrator at Morehouse College, Coastal Carolina University, Arizona State University, and the Université-Paris Cité. He has also served as a Faculty Research Adviser at the Center for Language Enhancement at the University of Rwanda’s Gikondo campus in Kigali.