Joshua Gamson (born November 16, 1962) is an American scholar and author. A graduate of

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, he served on the faculty of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

before becoming a professor of sociology at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. His work has appeared in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and Progressivism in the United States, progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The America ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', ''

Gender & Society ''Gender & Society'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in the field of gender studies. The co-editors are Sharmila Rudrappa (University of Texas at Austin) and Patricia Richards (University of Georgia). It was established i ...

'', the '' Journal of the History of Sexuality'', and '' Sociological Inquiry''. He is the son of sociologists

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Zelda F. Gamson. Gamson received the 2006 Stonewall Book Award for nonfiction for ''The Fabulous Sylvester'', his biography of disco singer and activist

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

, which was also shortlisted for the 2005

Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

. In a mostly positive review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

lamented the gaps in Gamson's knowledge of music history, but praised his "details and insights" into Sylvester's life. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called the book "worshipful, occasionally overenthusiastic, yet engaging and sometimes surprisingly insightful." He was a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow and received a Placek Award from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

in 1995.

Bibliography

*''Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America'' (1994) *''Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity'' (1998) *''The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, The Seventies in San Francisco'' (2005) * ''Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary Journeys to Kinship'' (2015)

References

External links

Profile at the Guggenheim Foundationwww.joshuagamson.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamson, Joshua American sociologists American non-fiction writers American LGBTQ writers Living people 1962 births Swarthmore College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Yale University faculty Stonewall Book Award winners