Assistant Professor Vanessa Gonlin's research and teaching areas of expertise include racial identity(ies), colorism, and interracial relationships, with a particular focus on Black peoples and multiracials. She determines the outcomes of racial identity dimensions that do not always align, documents the impact of colorism and hairism, and highlights how social hierarchies operate within interracial relationship dynamics. Dr. Gonlin earned her PhD from Texas A&M University with specializations in race and social demography and certificates in Advanced Research Methods, Africana Studies, and Latino/a and Mexican American Studies. Currently, Dr. Gonlin is centering two research projects. First, she is studying majority/minority interracial relationships from the minoritized racial partner’s perspective. These experiences highlight the impact social status can have on relationships and what factors lead to support or division in a hierarchical society. Second, she analyzes oral histories of hair to uncover messages learned from social networks and broader society, the impact of hair on a myriad of social outcomes, and pathways forward. In this vein, Dr. Gonlin brings research into the classroom. She created a new course, Colorism and Hairism in Communities of Color, which increases access to scholarly knowledge on these concepts. In addition to teaching on UGA's campus, Dr. Gonlin taught this course abroad with the UGA at Oxford program in 2025. She continues to learn and grow with every class she teaches. Dr. Gonlin is honored to be an award-winning teacher. Her dedication to undergraduate and graduate student learning is recognized through the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award, UGA NAACP Mary McLeod Bethune Educator Award, Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award, Multicultural Curriculum Grant, and Lilly Teaching Fellowship. Dr. Gonlin is not taking on any additional doctoral, master's, undergraduate, or high school students at this time. Education Education: Ph.D., Sociology, Texas A&M University, 2020 M.A., Sociology, Texas A&M University, 2016 B.S., Sociology (with honors), Towson University, 2014 Other Affiliations: Institute for African American Studies Institute for Women's Studies Owens Institute for Behavioral Research Research Research Areas: Race and Ethnicity Inequality Selected Publications Selected Publications: Latest journal articles: Gonlin, Vanessa, Chelsey Adams, and Elaysha Brown. 2025. “‘My favorite is the assumption of internalized racism’: Black Women, Racial Boundaries, and Interracial Relationships.” Ethnic and Racial Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2025.2560501. Gonlin, Vanessa and Brittany Belser. 2025. “‘He was socialized to believe that it’s normal’: Gendered Racism in Interracial Relationships between Black Women and White Men.” Social Problems. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaf040. Casellas Connors, Ishara and Vanessa Gonlin. 2024. “Complicating Latiné Experiences: Afro-Latiné Students’ Perceptions of Campus Climate and Sense of Belonging.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000580. Gonlin, Vanessa. 2023. “‘Come back home, sista!’: Reactions to Black Women in Interracial Relationships with White Men.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 46(10):2020-2042. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2023.2172353. Gonlin, Vanessa and Camryn Cobb. 2023. “Who is Your Fate Linked To? Racial Discrimination predicting Linked Fate among People with Mixed-Race Ancestry.” Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture 29(4):353-377. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2023.2249406. Gonlin, Vanessa and Destiny Hannon. 2023. “‘Now as a 50 year old woman, I know who I am’: Older Black Women Reflecting on Dating and/or Marrying White Men.” Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships 9(3-4):171-207. https://doi.org/10.1353/bsr.2023.0010.
