POS V 3313y Colloquium on Content of American Politics:
Gay and Lesbian Politics in the United States
Spring 1998
421 Lehman Hall, Tu 9:00-10:50
Jesse R. Borges

Overview

In Lesbian and Gay Politics, we will examine the development of lesbian and gay identities and the concomitant quest for liberty and justice in the United States during the post World War 11 era.  One of the primary objectives of this course is to advance a broad understanding of lesbian and gay politics by analyzing the manner in which gender, socioeconomic status and race intersect with each other and with sexual orientation.  Ultimately, we shall endeavor to expand our knowledge of how different economic and cultural backgrounds often lead to different social and political identities, different forms of social and political oppression, and different routes to socio-economic and political success.

Paper Assignments

Each student is required to write one twenty-five page research paper.  Paper topics are to be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  Each student must also submit a synopsis, which outlines the research paper generally and specifically details the study's hypothesis and research methods, by no later than March 3. Finally, all research papers in progress must be introduced to the class via the format of a verbal presentation which details topic, hypothesis, research methods, relevant substantive points of interest, and anticipated findings.

Lectures and Discussions

Classes meet on Tuesday mornings from 9:00am to 10:50am.  Each session will be discussion-oriented although short lectures will be given to clarify and/or supplement the assigned readings.  Video tape excerpts and newspaper clippings will also be used to give students a stronger perspective from which to analyze lesbian and gay politics in the United States.

Components of the Final Grade

The components of the course are assigned the following weights:

Class Participation...............................................20 percent

(Includes Presentations)

Research Paper....................................................80 percent

Office Hours

Office hours are on Tuesdays from 11:00am to 12:30pm in Lehman 407.

Books Available for Purchase:

James Button, Barbara A. Rienzo, and Kenneth D. Wald, Private Lives, Public Conflicts: Battles Over Gay Rights in American Communities.

David Deitcher, The Question of Equality: Lesbian and Gay Politics in America Since Stonewall.

John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970.

Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.

 *All course readings have been placed on reserve at Barnard College. READING, LECTURE, AND DISCUSSION SCHEDULE

I. Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Politics

January 20: Organizational Meeting: What's all the fuss about?

January 27: The Mythical Validity and Political Significance of Sexual Categorization: What does it mean to be defined as lesbian? bisexual? gay?  And why does it matter?

John Boswell, "Revolutions, Universals and Sexual Categories," 17-36.

 Celia Kitzinger, "Social Constructionism: Implications for Lesbian and Gay Psychology," 136161.

Adrienne Rich, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence," 23-75.

Roger N. Lancaster, "Life is Hard: Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua," 235-278.

II.  The Modern Era of Complete Political Oppression: 1940s-1960s

February 3: Forging a Group Identity in an Age of Complete Cultural and Institutional Oppression

John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States: 1940-1970, 1-125.

Eric Marcus, Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 5-15,26-53.

Martin Duberman, About Time: Exploring the Gay Past, 177-185.

Jonathan Katz, Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A., 91-105.

Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America, 159-187.

 III.  The Era of Demand Protest and the Transition to Electoral Politics: 1960s-1990s

February 10: The Emergence of a Demand/Protest Movement

John D'Emilio, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, 125-219.

Eric Marcus, Making History, 93-126.

Martin Duberman, About Time, 238-245.

February 17: The Emergence of Gay Liberation: The Stonewall Riots, (Dis)Unity, and the (Dis)Organizational Revolution

Donn Teal, The Gay Militants: How Gay Liberation Began in America, 1969-1971, 1-21.

David Deitcher, The Question of Equality: Lesbian and Gay Politics in America Since Stonewall, 7-51, 66-81.

Dennis Altman, Homosexual Oppression and Liberation, 117-162.

Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, 215-245.

February 24: The New Right Backlash, and the Rise of Gay Political Power

David Deitcher, The Question of Equality, 51-53, 84-133.

James Button, Barbara A. Rienzo, and Kenneth D. Wald, Private Lives, Public Conflicts: Battles Over Gay Rights in American Communities, 1-102, 173-199.

Recommended Reading: Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On, 3-50.

March 3: Sexuality and Voting Behavior

Mark Hertz, The Lavender Vote: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals in American Electoral Politics, 51-95, 175-232.

Kenneth Sherrill, "On Gay People as a Politically Powerless Group," 84-120.

March 10: Sex and the AIDS Crisis in the United States

David Deitcher, The Question of Equality, 54-65, 136-143.

Simon LeVay and Elisabeth Nonas, City of Friends, 203-267.

Larry Kramer, Reports From the Holocaust: The Story of an AIDS Activist, 33-51,127-139, 334- 360.

Joshua Garnson, "Rubber Wars: Struggles Over the Condom in the United States," 311-331.

March 24: Criminal Law and Anti-Discrimination Law

David Deitcher, The Question of Equality, 143-193.

Robert M. Baird and M. Katherine Baird, "Homosexuality and Criminal Law," 97-147.

James Button, Barbara A. Rienzo, and Kenneth D. Wald, Private Lives, Public Conflicts, 103- 172, 200-214.

March 31: Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender

Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, entire book.

IV. The Future Direction(s) of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Movement

April 7, April 14, April 21, April 28:

Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90's, selections.

Bruce Bawer, Beyond Queer: Challenging Gay Left Orthodoxy, selections.

Urvashi Vaid, Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation, selections.