I am a professor of sociology at the University of Louisville. I have a BA from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

I have authored a number of peer-review articles. More recent publications include:

 

Beggan, J. K. (2020). Monomyth or monogamyth? Polyamory’s conceptual challenges to the hero’s journey. Heroism Science, 5, 2.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2020). The cum shot (re)interpreted in terms of contamination and control. Journal of Bodies, Sexualities, and Masculinities, 1, 13-32.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2021). The conspiracy theory defense in response to whistleblower accusations: Turning a hero into a villain. Heroism Science, 6, 3.

 

Allison, S. T., Beggan, J. K., & Efthimiou, O. (2022) Curb your heroism: How Larry David, an old, bald misanthrope, won the hearts of millions. Heroism Science, 7, 2.

 

Allison, S. T., & Beggan, J. K. (2022). The dynamic negotiated exchange model of heroism and heroic leadership: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies, 1, 17-31.

 

Beggan, J. K., & Allison, S. T. (2023). Pressures to comply or defy: How social values influence perceptions of healthcare workers as villains. Heroism Science, 8, 1.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2023). Why is he there? Male presence in a sexually explicit magazine geared towards heterosexual men. Porn Studies, 10, 382-401.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2024). Change of meaning of Hugh Hefner and Playboy: From Horatio Alger to sexual predator. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48, 541-558.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2025). Eroticizing failure: The legacy of porn star Brooke Van Buuren. Porn Studies, 12(1), 29-43.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2025). False prophet and profit: The heroic journeys of Richard S. Shaver with Ray Palmer as dark mentor. Heroism Science, 10, 2.

 

Allison, S. T., & Beggan, J. K. (2025). “The needs of the many”: Star Trek’s unification principle of heroic leadership. In J. A. Kaufman & A. Peterson (Eds.), Second star to the right: Essays on leadership in Star Trek (pp. 89-106). Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press.

 

Beggan, J. K. (2025). When students want you to change their grade: They say it “never hurts to ask.” But it does. The Chronicle of Higher Education. (June 27, 2025). https://www-chronicle-com.echo.louisville.edu/article/when-students-want-you-to-change-their-grades.

 

I co-edited the volume Leadership and Sexuality: Power, Principles and Processes (2018). I was an associate editor for the Sage Encyclopedia of Leadership Studies (2023). I was co-editor-in-chief of The Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies (2024).

 

I co-authored the book The Hazards of Great Leadership: Detrimental Consequences of Leader Exceptionalism (2023).

 

I wrote the books Sexual Harassment, the Abuse of Power and the Crisis of Leadership (2019); The Dilemma of Coalition Formation in Consensual Nonmonogamy: Three Against Two Against One (2021); How Our Love of Dogs Creates Social Conflict (2022); and The Decisions to Open a Relationship: To Three or Not to Three (2023).

 

My most recent book is The Strategic Use of Fidelity in Romantic Relationships: Defensive Monogamy and Self-Protection (2026).