Che Gossett
Gossett in 2019
Born	Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer and archivist
Known for	Queer and transgender studies
Family	Tourmaline (sister)

Che Gossett is a trans femme writer, scholar, and archivist.^[1] They have written extensively on black and trans visibility, black trans aesthetics,^[2][3][4] racial capitalism,^[5][6] and queer, trans and black radicalism, resistance and abolition.^[7]

Early life and education

Gossett grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts with their twin, Katlin and their sibling, activist and filmmaker Tourmaline.^[8][9] Their mother was a union organizer and their father was a Vietnam War veteran and former member of the Memphis-based activist group, The Invaders.^[10][9]

Gossett attended Rafael Hernandez Elementary School and Nativity Preparatory School as a child, and attended River's Country Day High School before ultimately graduating from New Mission High School. As a teen, Gossett participated in youth conferences and HIV peer education.^[9]

After graduating from high school, they attended Morehouse College and graduated with their BA in African American studies in 2003.^[11] Gossett also received an MAT from Brown University in 2004, and an MA in History from the University in Pennsylvania in 2010.^[11] They received their Doctorate in Women's and Gender Studies from Rutgers University in 2021.^[12]

Publications and Lectures

They have published their writing in Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility,^[13] Death and Other Penalties: Continental Philosophers on Prisons and Capital Punishment,^[14] Transgender Studies Reader,^[15] The Scholar & Feminist Online,^[16] Los Angeles Review of Books,^[17] and Frieze.^[18][19] Gossett has lectured and performed at The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, Whitney Museum of American Art, New Museum and A.I.R. Gallery.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

From 2014 to 2022, Gossett served as the Community Archivist and Student Coordinator at the Barnard Center for Research on Women.^[25][9]

In 2023, Gossett joined the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University as a Scholar in Residence and graduate seminar instructor in critical race theory.^[26][27] They also serve as the Associate Director for UPenn's Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies.^[27]

Fellowships and Awards

• Visiting Scholar, Oxford Centre for Life Writing (2023)^[28]
• Gloria E. Anzaldúa Award from the American Studies Association (2014)^[29]
• Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies from the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies at the City University of New York (2014)^[30]
• Martin Duberman Research Scholar Award from the New York Public Library (2014)
• 2017-2018 Queer Arts Mentor^[31]
• Helena Rubenstein Fellow, Whitney Museum Independent Study Program (2019-2020)^[27]
• Racial Justice Postdoctoral Fellowship, Columbia Law School (2021)^[32][11]
• Art Journal Award for Distinction, College Art Association (2022)^[33][26]
• Ruth Stephan Fellow, Beinecke Library, Yale University (2022)^[27]
• Animal Law and Policy Program Fellow, Harvard Law School (2022)^[27]

References