Ghosh publishes second book

Ghosh publishes second book

Cyril Ghosh

Wagner College government professor Cyril Ghosh has published his second book, “De-Moralizing Gay Rights: Some Queer Remarks on LGBT+ Rights, Politics in the U.S.” (Palgrave Macmillan).

The publisher describes Dr. Ghosh’s book:

This book critically interrogates three sets of distortions that emanate from the messianic core of 21st century public discourse on LGBT+ rights in the United States. The first relates to the critique of pinkwashing, often advanced by scholars who claim to be committed to an emancipatory politics. The second concerns a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), a judgment that established marriage equality across the 50 states. The third distortion occurs in Kenji Yoshino’s theorization of the concept of gay covering. Each distortion produces its own injunction to assimilate, sometimes into the dominant mainstream and, at other times, into the fold of what is axiomatically taken to be the category of the radical. Using a queer theoretic analysis, “De-Moralizing Gay Rights” argues for the dismantling of each of these three sets of assimilationist injunctions.

The Palgrave Macmillan Web page for “De-Moralizing Gay Rights” offers previews of each chapter. Extensive previews are also provided on the Google Books website.

Ghosh’s first book was “The Politics of the American Dream: Democratic Inclusion in Contemporary American Political Culture,” published in 2013 by Palgrave Macmillan. Read more about “The Politics of the American Dream” on the Government & Politics departmental website.

Cyril Ghosh is an assistant professor on Wagner College’s Department of Government & Politics. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in international relations from Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, and master’s and doctor’s degrees from Syracuse University, with specializations in political theory, American politics, and methods. He has taught at Syracuse University, the New School, NYU, Reed, Smith and Mt. Holyoke.

Ghosh is section chair for “Identity Politics” in the New York State Political Science Association. This year, he served as program chair for NYSPSA's annual meeting, hosted by Wagner College.

Ghosh’s research specializations include identity politics/multiculturalism, gender & sexuality, and citizenship & immigration.

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