To teach queer history or to queer the teaching of history? This question- posed by historian John Howard- reflects the central teaching objectives of Queer Histories of the United States, 1850 to the Present. Course participants will survey the diverse social, political, cultural and economic histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities in the United States from the middle of the nineteenth century through the early twenty-first century. Moreover, the instructor and students will collectively interrogate the historical production of gender and sexual categories of “normativity” and “non-normativity” within American life. Course topics include but are not limited to the historical development of queer communities, homophile organizations, gay liberation politics, the histories of queer communities of color, the AIDS Crisis and related activism, transgender political communities, the role of federal and state law/policy in the production of heteronormativity and early twenty-first century trans/queer activism. This course utilizes lectures, discussions and writing assignments alongside interdisciplinary scholarship and primary source materials (including photographs, art, newspapers, memoirs, film and political ephemera).

Class Format:

Lecture with Discussion Sections