Che Gossett

Che Gossett is a Black non-binary critical theorist and Visiting Critic at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design (Department of Fine Arts). Their academic roles include a 2022 Visiting Fellowship at Harvard Law School’s Animal Law and Policy Program, and a 2023 Fellowship at Oxford University’s Centre for Life-Writing (Wolfson College) to complete a political biography of queer Japanese American AIDS activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya.

Education:

• B.A. in African American Studies, Morehouse College
• MAT in Social Studies, Brown University
• M.A. in History, University of Pennsylvania
• Ph.D. in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University

Research focuses on intersections of queer/trans studies, abolitionism, Black studies, and aesthetic theory. Current work centers on Kiyoshi Kuromiya’s activism during the AIDS crisis, blending biography with analyses of queer historiography and carceral systems.

Awards & Fellowships:

• Ruth Stephan Fellowship (Beinecke Library, Yale University, 2022)
• Helena Rubenstein Fellow (Whitney Independent Study Program, 2019-2020)

Engages with academic institutions while maintaining critical distance, exemplified by their visiting roles across design, law, and humanities programs.