Terrance Dean (September 8, 1968 - August 11, 2022) was an author, academic, and a former

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

executive. He is best known for his 2008 memoir '' Hiding in Hip-Hop'' and is the author of books including ''Reclaim Your Power! A 30-Day Guide to Hope, Healing and Inspiration for Men of Color'' (2003), ''Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, and Having A Fabulous Life'' (2010), ''Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris'', (2010). In 2011, Dean made his fiction debut with his novel, ''MOGUL''. Dean was a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

in Black Studies at

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

since 2019 .

Career

Dean was a contributing writer to several

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

including ''Souls of My Brothers'' and ''Always Too Soon''. He wrote for ''

VIBE ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'', ''

ESSENCE Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'', '' XXL'', '' Juicy Magazine'', ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', '' The Advocate'', ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', and ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

''. Dean was featured in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

Ms. Magazine ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Ca ...

'', ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'', ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'', '' The Observer UK'', ''

Genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

'', ''

Hip Hop Weekly ''Hip Hop Weekly'' is an American hip hop news and entertainment magazine founded in 2006. The magazine covers celebrity news, music, film, fashion, sports and features exclusive interviews with many notable figures within popular culture. Hist ...

'', and Mediatakeout.com. Dean worked with television and film production companies such as B.E.T., Savoy Television,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

, and

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

. He worked with

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

for several years aiding in the production of live award shows and events. Dean received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in religion from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he studied the relationships between race, sexuality, sex and, gender in

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

and

liturgics Liturgics, also called liturgical studies or liturgiology, is the academic discipline dedicated to the study of liturgy (public worship rites, rituals, and practices). Liturgics scholars typically specialize in a single approach drawn from anoth ...

. He previously received his BA in communications from

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

;

Master of Theological Studies A Master of Theological Studies (MTS) is a graduate degree, offered in theological seminary or graduate faculty of theology, which gives students lay training in theological studies. Under Association of Theological Schools in the United States a ...

from Vanderbilt, and MA in religion from Vanderbilt. As Assistant Professor of Black Studies at

, his research concerned topics including African-American religion, the

African-American diaspora The African-American diaspora refers to communities of people outside of the United States who are descended from people of African descent who were enslaved in the United States or its preceding European colonies along the east coast of Nort ...

Afro-futurism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultu ...

and the work of

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

. He was appointed the first Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Scholar-in-Residence at the Columbus Museum of Art in January 2022.

Death

According to officials at Denison University, where Dean was employed, sometime in the summer of 2022, Dean was stricken with illness and briefly spent time in a hospital in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. On, August 11, 2022, Columbus police performed a wellness check in which they found Dean dead in his home. An exact cause of death was not provided.

Bibliography

* ''Reclaim Your Power! A 30-Day Guide to Hope, Healing and Inspiration for Men of Color'' (2003) * '' Hiding in Hip-Hop'' (2008) * ''Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, and Having A Fabulous Life'' (2010) * ''Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris'' (2010) * ''MOGUL'' (2011)

Influences

Dean cited the late

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

and openly gay author

E. Lynn Harris E. Lynn Harris ( Everette Lynn Jeter; June 20, 1955 – July 23, 2009) was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African-American men who were on the down-low and closeted. He authored ten consecutive books th ...

as a literary influence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Terrance 1968 births 2022 deaths African-American writers American LGBT writers MTV executives LGBT African Americans 21st-century African-American people Writers from Detroit