Gabriel Peoples

Gabriel Peoples is an Assistant Professor in Gender Studies at Indiana University. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies with a Certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis (2022-2023).

His research examines 'Black Virality'—the rapid circulation of Black performance through digital media—and its impacts on racial representation, cultural production, and identity formation. Current book project 'Goin’ Viral: Uncontrollable Black Performance' analyzes how viral media reconstitutes notions of Blackness while creating spaces for counter-narratives.

Emerging research explores DJ cultures, communal ecstasy, and the affective dimensions of music in relation to racialized gender. Methodologies integrate performance theory, visual culture analysis, and digital media studies to investigate contemporary Black expressive cultures.

The Ford Fellowship supported completion of his manuscript and development of digital humanities visualizations analyzing viral media phenomena.