HIS515: LGBTQ+ History

Until relatively recently, individuals who might currently identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender have lived mostly hidden lives, rarely open about expressing their sexual or gender identities. The past 30 years have seen a sea change in cultural understandings and acceptance of LGBTQ identities and same-sex relationships. Only recently, however, have LGBTQ identities become the topic of scholarly historical studies. This course will study the historical development of gay, lesbian, and transsexual/transgender identities and the fight for LGBTQ rights in the 20th and early 21st centuries. While the course will focus on the history of the gay rights movement within the United States, we will also consider how definitions of LGBTQ identities have been shaped in different time periods and geographical locations, and we will study the international reach of Western-based LGBTQ social movements. The course will also include readings on current topics in LGBTQ politics and culture.