Writer and Academic José Esteban Muñoz has Died
Author: William Johnson
December 4, 2013
University of Minnesota Press is reporting that José Esteban Muñoz, an author and academic in the fields of queer theory and cultural studies, has died. Muñoz died on Wednesday, December 4th in New York City. He was 46 years old. Cause of death has yet to be released.
Muñoz was a professor and former Chair of the Department of Performance Studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, as well as the author and editor of several books that grappled with issues of race, gender, and sexuality including Cruising Utopia: The Politics and Performance of Queer Futurity and Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics.
From the University of Minnesota Press:
[…]Muñoz authored and edited several books and numerous scholarly articles. His first book, Disdentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics,was innovative and groundbreaking, and has proven to be foundational to the critical study on the nexus of race, gender, and sexuality. It continues to serve as a model for much of the scholarly work in this area that has followed since its initial publication in 1999.
The Press extends its sympathies and condolences to Muñoz’s friends, family, colleagues and students. The loss of his expertise and perspective to the fields of queer studies, performance studies, and critical race studies is profound. His contributions will continue to influence these areas of inquiry for many years to come.
