Desmond Goss
Dr. Goss is a theory-driven mixed-methods scholar-activist, whose research, teaching, and service engages critical analyses of lived experience and power at the intersection of varied sociopolitical structures, particularly white supremacy, capitalism, and cisheteropatriarchy, for the sustenance of radically liberated communities. They are Senior Personnel for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Intersectionality in the American South Collective.
Dr. Goss’ current research includes:
- An exploration of the predictive value of race and Christian religiosity to homonegativity.
- An analysis of the experiences and impacts of graduate examinations as a gatekeeping mechanism for (hegemonic) knowledge production.
- An examination of the identificatory experiences of Black queer atheists living amid the “Biblical panopticon” of the southern U.S.
Book
Goss, Desmond. 2021. Race and Masculinity in Gay Porn: Deconstructing the Big Black Beasts. New York, NY: Routledge.
Articles, Chapters, and Interviews
Goss, Desmond. 2026. "Sexual Racism." Elgar Encyclopedia of Sex and Society, edited by D. Waskul and D. Wahl. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Goss, Desmond. 2025. "Queer Foretold: Sociological Futurology and Sexual Futurities." Sex & Sexualities 1:2:211-229. doi:10.1177/30333717251379099
Goss, Desmond. 2025. “The Palestinian’s Will to Resist Still Remains:” An Interview with Dr. Muhannad Ayyash about His Book, Lordship and Liberation in Palestine-Israel." Humanity & Society. doi:10.1177/01605976251396538
Goss, Desmond. 2018. “Race and Masculinity in Gay Porn.” Pp. 143-152 in Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader (5th Ed.), edited by M. Stombler, D. Baunach, E. Burgess, W. Simonds, and E. Windsor. New York, NY: Pearson.
Goss, Desmond. 2016/2017/2026. “A Modern Empire: The Concentration of Media.” Pp. 322-331 in Focus on Social Problems: A Contemporary Reader, edited by M. Stombler and A. Jungels. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Blog Posts, Op-Eds, Popular Scholarship, and Videos
"Anarchism, Sociology, and Palestine." 2026. The Sociologist: Sociology From & About the DMV.
Juneteenth Message (Faculty of the African Diaspora Association)
Freedom School Lecture Series: Race, Policing, and Disability (Auburn Avenue Research Library and Georgia State University’s Department of Africana Studies)
Teaching for Social Justice & Democracy Speaker Series: Inciting Abolitionist Imagination (Georgia State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education)
When Policy Isn’t Enough: QTIPOC Solidarity and Health in Times of Protest (Women of Color Initiative)
Post-Policing Interview with Dr. Desmond Goss (Aloud Podcast)
Unpacking Intersectionality with Scholars (Intersectionality in the American South’s Podcast)
PhD, Sociology (Gender and Sexuality Concentration), Georgia State University 2017
MA, Public Sociology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington 2011
BA, Psychology (Minor: Sociology), North Carolina State University 2008
- Award for Excellence in the Mentoring of Master's Students, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University (2025)
- Honorable Mention, Sociology of Sexualities’ Distinguished Book Award, American Sociological Association
- Teaching for Social Justice Award, Georgia State University (2022)
- Provost’s Dissertation Fellowship, Georgia State University (2016)
- Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Georgia State University (2016)
- Huel D. Perkins Doctoral Diversity Fellowship, Louisiana State University (2011)
SOC 1000 - Dean's Seminar: Studying Social Justice
SOC 2104 - Contemporary Sociological Theory
SOC 2175 - Sociology of Sex and Gender