I want to thank Ted Balaker for asking me to write this essay. I found it challenging. I never want to humiliate or disparage my students. At the same time, I wanted to bring to life the tightrope faculty must traverse. Thank you to everyone who is reading this and commenting, I appreciate it.
Thank YOU, Gayle. A big part of what makes your essay so powerful is that you provide an honest behind-the-scenes account and you don't humiliate your students. One side wants to mock politicized college students, and the other side wants to enable them. Our movie aimed to understand them and your essay accomplished that goal beautifully.
And I want to thank Ted for presenting us this very good article! Thank-you for being an excellent teacher and setting these kids up for real life. We certainly need more like you. I wouldn't be surprised if many look back on your class as significant in some way. I wouldn't mind taking it myself!
Thanks very much, Anne. I complain so much about higher ed, but I think it's really important to show deep appreciation for those profs such as Gayle who are still fighting the good fight, and doing it with intellectual honesty. I'd of course, include our frequent contributor Randy Wayne of Cornell in that group!
One of the saddest most perplexing reads in a long time. To be so utterly bound up over identify to the exclusion of the broader acquisition of knowledge and wisdom does not bode well for a generation. Truly a society in decline.
I was going to say, "At heart they are good people." Then I remembered my trans daughter saying, "Mom is such a good person," after she learned that I didn't mask or vaccine during Covid. Having a good heart or being a good person doesn't necessarily translate to good intellect. Nevertheless, I am hopeful.
I shudder when I see the trans activists making loud noise and trying to erase women. This is the first time in history we've seen large groups of men choosing to live as women. Why? I don't believe it is a biological "in the wrong body" case. There is something socially, culturally happening that men want to be women. Is it the hate directed at white men? Is it the rise of women who've become "masculine"?
Historians used to argue that women passed as men in the past to gain access to jobs and other privileges not available to women. Now they are asking if those women were trans.
Not and expert, but been around the sun 67 times and learned some things.
Worldview plays in to how we see these events (the rise of transactivism/transgenderism since 2010ish).
I switched worldviews at age 38 when I acknowledged Christ as Savior and Lord. Necessarily this modifies the lens through which one interprets “the world.”
Prior to this transformation, I saw life through a secular humanistic lens. So, an advantage in having experienced both worldviews as an adult.
Men wanting to be women is a peculiar and complex matter. And one which intersects with demonic influence (as spiritual forces of evil oppose all that God calls “good”). AGP is a component. And myriad factors involved in the psychological shaping of these individuals.
Social media is an accelerant. Like gasoline used in arson, it ensures devastating results. As an aside, Parents are nuts to give minor children unfettered/unmonitored access to devices/iNet. IMO.
The staggeringly difficult and morally torturous process of growing up now—compared to my formative years in the 60s/70s/80s—breaks my heart. And trying to parent today!?
It sounds like you are doing a very good job. I teach history in college too and have had some angry, incurious, joylessly political students who intimidated me and ruined classroom dynamics. I struggled to understand their worldview, in which the answer to every question is already known and the classroom is just another arena for the struggle against the oppressor (me). But the next year, the same class goes really well. It varies so much from one group of kids to the next. A silver lining - at least this generation cares about what they're there to study!
Every group of students brings its own dynamics. A strong personality among students can cower the less assertive. In my trans class, not joining the choir of "white man bad" made it possible for some of my students to find their voices. At the same time, I could tell which of my colleagues had indoctrinated some of my students by the causes they championed in class. I never want to create mini-me [think plural, doesn't look right spelled out].
I think the politics of why certain classes run and others don't is important. My university has a diversity requirement. My colleague who teaches African American history has been asked to have his classes classified as diversity classes--more paperwork. I teach women's history and lgbtq history but have never been asked to add my courses to the diversity requirement--I purposely did not attempt the paperwork. I think because I don't drink the kool-aid is the reason I haven't been approached, although my classes seem like they would be no brainers for diversity.
"A gay identity, as we define it, is a modern concept. Sexual Identity is part of how we define ourselves, making it difficult to fathom that in other times and places, one’s sexuality was not a fundamental component of one’s identity."
I'm going to ponder on this a lot.
One of the things that has long bugged me is how some prescibe a trait (like being female) to shape the entirity of a human being, and it feels suffocating. But I've always questioned - when it comes to groups outside of my own - does it ever feel the same, or are they right when they say these traits are enough to define one's entire psyche? I assume it's different for everyone.
I used to question if I might be bi in like, middle school, because everyone else was. But I couldn't fathom how thinking someone was cute could cause me to have a seperate "identity" and "community" - I got why some might feel so if they were socially shunned, but that wasn't the case where I lived, at least I never felt worried about it.
I guess that's how I realized I'm straight - I didn't like Pride parades, so I'm either a defect or a straight ignorant moron. I didn't want to be "appropriating" nor "in denial," but even with this "questioning," it was a pointless topic to an academic-focused student that never kept me awake at night like it did for my peers.
I'm still not sure what's correct here - culturally, socially, factually speaking - but, yes, I'm straight.
"Ignorant moron"... Well, that's unrelated to being straight, and still debatable. (I can laugh at myself, I know I'm not a genius).
I am a muller and a ponderer myself, so I get where you are coming from. I used to like Kinsey's scale of sexuality--at one end 100% heterosexual, at the other end 100% homosexual, and everyone else somewhere in between--but it gets misused these days. I am not into outing historical figures, which is popular during pride history month. Remember Tomboys? Tomboys were girls who behaved like boys but were still girls. Tomboys (Jo in Little Women) were often celebrated. Little girls who behaved the way that felt natural to them. I miss the time when kids could experiment without the danger of being labeled and restricted to an identity.
I think this fluidity is greatly exaggerated. No doubt there are people who are bisexual or who have varied preferences, but I am of the opinion that we are dealing with a cultural phenomenon: a disdain for heteronormative behavior, a flood of social media influencers, messaging from Hollywood and universities, and an obsession with sexual identity. As someone who works on a college campus, has a daughter in college, and a son in high school, my observation is that intersectionality wins the day. The more sexual identities you add to your bio, the more noble you are.
You may be right. In a number of historical periods and places, gay sex was accepted as long as a man was married and had children. As long as a man fulfilled his heteronormative role, he could engage in gay sex without suffering sanctions. Did the married man prefer sex with men? Did the married man engage in gay sex because sex with a woman outside of marriage was prohibited? We know less about women’s sex lives. Historical the sex act has not been seen as a part of one’s identity. Maybe the conversation needs to turn to monogamy
My understanding—correct me if I’m wrong—was that in these societies you’re describing, penetration was a sign of power. A man could have sex with whomever he pleased as long as it was not a person of higher status. It was into this environment that Christianity was introduced, attracting large numbers of women because of the favorable and esteemed view it held of the female sex, its introduction of mutual consent, and the way it called out the shenanigans of men. I find this so fascinating…
I still believe that teaching women's history and lgbtq history are types of activism. However, I've never believed in replicating my thinking and try to keep an open mind when students share their ideas. Shutting me down or shutting down their classmates is a new phenomenon. Thank you for sharing an interesting perspective.
This is a great piece and I wish you luck but I fear that the ever encroaching tribal identity where the focus on what separates us rather than what we share in common is the future. The enlightenment is just more proof of white , male colonization. We are looking at a generation that values opinion over knowledge and woe unto those heretics who disagree.
I cannot tell you how many times I've played that class over and over in my mind when students told me that wouldn't read about Native Americans unless the article was written by a Native American. They insinuated I didn't look hard enough for an article written by a Native American. The students really wanted to be affirmed, and it took me most of the semester to figure that out.
Pt 2....Just to be clear I do not envy you your task. I was trained by nuns in my formative years; expectations, accountability , consequences. I have marked with a heavy red pen most of my life. I would never survive trying to teach today.
Students are different today, they really are. As an undergraduate, I would never have told a professor what they could assign. I feel caught between having respect for authority and questioning authority. Teaching is hard
Hard is an understatement. I was going with Sisyphus but I think my take on Prometheus is closer. I decided early in my youth that he was punished not because fire brought heat but because it brought light and so many people just do not want to see. (starting with the nuns who realized they had a heretic on their hands). Showing up every class hoping to enlighten them only to have your liver ripped out and devoured seems spot on but ladies' choice here.
Wonderful imagery. After 25 years of teaching, I am only now realizing that I have to find sustenance in knowing that I am making an effort to educate and I can no longer beat myself up when students don't do their share of the work.
I do have to give the nuns some credit. There was no slacking off allowed. They assumed you were capable of doing the work and held you to it.
I had a plaque made for my desk, “Warning, I was trained by nuns: expectations, accountability,.consequences.” The religious propaganda was a whole nother story though I think I actually benefited from being exposed to that type of indoctrination. It was good training for the outside world.
I'm not sure "affirmed" is the word I would use. Feeling more like "catered to" as part of entitlement. Will there be a test to see if they are NA enough if there was intermarriage? Is there a target percentage? Is there a panel that will decide that and pass judgement or can they just "self identify"? But. you're the one teaching the class. Increasingly this feels like the Red Guard and they're writing their own book as they march on. It would be a mistake to believe it can't happen here.
“Catered to” works for me. Many of my colleagues believe as the students believe. The power dynamics have been inverted. I cater, they review my services and if I am found unacceptable, they turn to “management.”
This was an interesting read! I would be exhausted by teaching the classes you describe, but I would like to take your class (or would if I could go back in time).
Your starting the class by being very upfront with students about standards and content is key -- I think we'd all have a lot less trouble if professors did that. Trying to teach or learn in an environment where students feel entitled to shout out disagreement and tell the teacher what the syllabus should consist of is a waste of time.
We are all biased, and there is no interpretation of history that is not biased. What bothers me is the people who think their bias is some sort of absolute. As we consider the incredible amount of time and energy being put into various studies of sexual practices, we might want to consider why equal effort isn't put into other equally important subject matter. (I can see such courses for psych majors, but how much of it do history majors really need?)
How about the history of capitalism, examined DISPATIONATELY? After all, capitalism is the reason so many have the time and energy to examine human sexuality. Human sexuality has been of great interest to everyone over the years, but not so many people felt they needed to study it to death.
How about the history of the Age of Enlightenment? That one is huge. I've just now started connecting the dots between the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.
I'm a graduate from the Age of Vietnam (Yes, I just made that up.) In the 1960s it was all Vietnam, all the time in college. All of history and current events were measured in relation to the Vietnam war. But even at that, nearly no one had a clue of the actual history of Vietnam. No one had any depth of knowledge concerning the major players, the Soviet Union, France, China and the USA. There were, as alluded to by Ms. Fischer concerning her current courses, good guys and bad guys, and nobody understood anything deeper than that.
I suspect that most people reading this have basic beliefs (not knowledge, beliefs) about who the good guys and bad guys were in the Vietnam war. But how many can dispassionately explain the world history that resulted in that war? I think that's the crux of the problem. Be it Vietnam, or sexuality, or capitalism, so many people think they are educated, but are not. So many people seek affirmation of their beliefs rather greater comprehension, and call it education.
Although training to be a historian requires understanding how and why interpretations of the past vary, it is only in the past decade that I’ve come to recognize that some of my colleagues don’t recognize their own biases. I try to be fair to the sources. I also know that the questions that I ask about the past are informed by the present.
History majors tend to take more geographical or chronological courses than my classes. I tend to draw students from other majors. LGBTQ history draws the curious. I’ve found that young women hesitate to take women’s history out of fear of being identified as a feminist or a lesbian or both. My LGBTQ students don’t seem to have that same kind of fear of being labeled.
GV, in your experience is the pendulum swinging back a little? I know many people want to see the governments legislate LGBTQ+ out of existence, but I don't think that's the way. I'm hoping for excellent teachers like you to assert your education and experience, and not let students dictate.
I would like to say that there is no going back. Alas, history teaches us that this isn’t true. I think the gay alliance with radical transgender activists has not been good for public perceptions of lgb.
The syllabus itself for both the lgbtq and the trans class is cumbersome because it was created in a learning management system which does not translate well into a pdf. However, I could put together a bibliography if you are interested. Something I am doing this semester is running academic articles through ChatGPT to shorten them and make the language more accessible for my students.
I would love to see the bibliography! That is frustrating that you need to make the language more accessible for college students but I’m glad you have tools to do it.
Sorry, I haven't gotten the bibliography to you. I recommended Paul Halsall's People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/index.asp to another reader. You would probably find that useful.
I learned my lesson with my trans history class. I have to let my students know immediately that history is an academic discipline with rules. I teach neither "feel good" nor "feel bad" history. I want brains working in my classes.
Thank you for this evocative look at what you are dealing with in a corner of academia that doesn’t get enough attention. It was a very compelling read!
A great resource is Paul Halsall's People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/index.asp The bibliography will direct you to online and offline resources. Invaluable.
One of my favorite books is Gay Life and Culture: A World History edited by Robert Aldrich. The articles vary in quality, but what I love about this book is that it is almost a coffee table book with LOTS of lush illustrations. You can often find a cheap used copy online.
Favorite historians include: Leila Rupp, Martin Duberman, George Chauncey, Jr., Susan Stryker, and David M. Halperin. These are more "old school" historians but their work is accessible and (I think) still the gold standard in LBGTQ history.
I want to thank Ted Balaker for asking me to write this essay. I found it challenging. I never want to humiliate or disparage my students. At the same time, I wanted to bring to life the tightrope faculty must traverse. Thank you to everyone who is reading this and commenting, I appreciate it.
Thank YOU, Gayle. A big part of what makes your essay so powerful is that you provide an honest behind-the-scenes account and you don't humiliate your students. One side wants to mock politicized college students, and the other side wants to enable them. Our movie aimed to understand them and your essay accomplished that goal beautifully.
And I want to thank Ted for presenting us this very good article! Thank-you for being an excellent teacher and setting these kids up for real life. We certainly need more like you. I wouldn't be surprised if many look back on your class as significant in some way. I wouldn't mind taking it myself!
Thanks very much, Anne. I complain so much about higher ed, but I think it's really important to show deep appreciation for those profs such as Gayle who are still fighting the good fight, and doing it with intellectual honesty. I'd of course, include our frequent contributor Randy Wayne of Cornell in that group!
Thank you
One of the saddest most perplexing reads in a long time. To be so utterly bound up over identify to the exclusion of the broader acquisition of knowledge and wisdom does not bode well for a generation. Truly a society in decline.
I was going to say, "At heart they are good people." Then I remembered my trans daughter saying, "Mom is such a good person," after she learned that I didn't mask or vaccine during Covid. Having a good heart or being a good person doesn't necessarily translate to good intellect. Nevertheless, I am hopeful.
And Truth—there is such a thing—is in tatters, particularly in the context of trans activism.
I shudder when I see the trans activists making loud noise and trying to erase women. This is the first time in history we've seen large groups of men choosing to live as women. Why? I don't believe it is a biological "in the wrong body" case. There is something socially, culturally happening that men want to be women. Is it the hate directed at white men? Is it the rise of women who've become "masculine"?
Historians used to argue that women passed as men in the past to gain access to jobs and other privileges not available to women. Now they are asking if those women were trans.
Tough and intriguing questions.
Not and expert, but been around the sun 67 times and learned some things.
Worldview plays in to how we see these events (the rise of transactivism/transgenderism since 2010ish).
I switched worldviews at age 38 when I acknowledged Christ as Savior and Lord. Necessarily this modifies the lens through which one interprets “the world.”
Prior to this transformation, I saw life through a secular humanistic lens. So, an advantage in having experienced both worldviews as an adult.
Men wanting to be women is a peculiar and complex matter. And one which intersects with demonic influence (as spiritual forces of evil oppose all that God calls “good”). AGP is a component. And myriad factors involved in the psychological shaping of these individuals.
Social media is an accelerant. Like gasoline used in arson, it ensures devastating results. As an aside, Parents are nuts to give minor children unfettered/unmonitored access to devices/iNet. IMO.
The staggeringly difficult and morally torturous process of growing up now—compared to my formative years in the 60s/70s/80s—breaks my heart. And trying to parent today!?
As they say ... Just ... WOW!
What is AGP?
Here is the psychiatric definition: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-19367-006
Do you know anyone that is inspired by males' act of "Joyful Sabotage"....?
Are you ready to hear this?
The "neural pathways" involved in "The Joy of Sex" may be perpetuating The "neural pathways" involved in "The Joy of Sabotage"...?
The sex act sabotages my partner's other lover's semen by pumping it out.
Researcher:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_G._Gallup
https://web.archive.org/web/20160618085730/http://www.albany.edu/psychology/20915.php
Research:
Science:"Semen Displacement as a Sperm Competition Strategy in Humans"
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/147470490400200105
Science:" The human penis as a semen displacement device "
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=4cea697c1f0d9c80e0fa8c366ae686ec72eea642
Humorously:
BREAKING NEWS: Origin Story Saves Marriage:
A Scientist, a Therapist, a Priest, a Plumber, a Gas Station Attendant, my wife, and I walk into a bar...
...more on request... :-)
Is this real? So two sets of semen create a man who wants to be a woman? I am confused.
Did you miss the insidious implications of two coronas? :-)
It doesn’t make sense. The punctuation errors alone are distracting.
It sounds like you are doing a very good job. I teach history in college too and have had some angry, incurious, joylessly political students who intimidated me and ruined classroom dynamics. I struggled to understand their worldview, in which the answer to every question is already known and the classroom is just another arena for the struggle against the oppressor (me). But the next year, the same class goes really well. It varies so much from one group of kids to the next. A silver lining - at least this generation cares about what they're there to study!
Every group of students brings its own dynamics. A strong personality among students can cower the less assertive. In my trans class, not joining the choir of "white man bad" made it possible for some of my students to find their voices. At the same time, I could tell which of my colleagues had indoctrinated some of my students by the causes they championed in class. I never want to create mini-me [think plural, doesn't look right spelled out].
I think the politics of why certain classes run and others don't is important. My university has a diversity requirement. My colleague who teaches African American history has been asked to have his classes classified as diversity classes--more paperwork. I teach women's history and lgbtq history but have never been asked to add my courses to the diversity requirement--I purposely did not attempt the paperwork. I think because I don't drink the kool-aid is the reason I haven't been approached, although my classes seem like they would be no brainers for diversity.
"A gay identity, as we define it, is a modern concept. Sexual Identity is part of how we define ourselves, making it difficult to fathom that in other times and places, one’s sexuality was not a fundamental component of one’s identity."
I'm going to ponder on this a lot.
One of the things that has long bugged me is how some prescibe a trait (like being female) to shape the entirity of a human being, and it feels suffocating. But I've always questioned - when it comes to groups outside of my own - does it ever feel the same, or are they right when they say these traits are enough to define one's entire psyche? I assume it's different for everyone.
I used to question if I might be bi in like, middle school, because everyone else was. But I couldn't fathom how thinking someone was cute could cause me to have a seperate "identity" and "community" - I got why some might feel so if they were socially shunned, but that wasn't the case where I lived, at least I never felt worried about it.
I guess that's how I realized I'm straight - I didn't like Pride parades, so I'm either a defect or a straight ignorant moron. I didn't want to be "appropriating" nor "in denial," but even with this "questioning," it was a pointless topic to an academic-focused student that never kept me awake at night like it did for my peers.
I'm still not sure what's correct here - culturally, socially, factually speaking - but, yes, I'm straight.
"Ignorant moron"... Well, that's unrelated to being straight, and still debatable. (I can laugh at myself, I know I'm not a genius).
I am a muller and a ponderer myself, so I get where you are coming from. I used to like Kinsey's scale of sexuality--at one end 100% heterosexual, at the other end 100% homosexual, and everyone else somewhere in between--but it gets misused these days. I am not into outing historical figures, which is popular during pride history month. Remember Tomboys? Tomboys were girls who behaved like boys but were still girls. Tomboys (Jo in Little Women) were often celebrated. Little girls who behaved the way that felt natural to them. I miss the time when kids could experiment without the danger of being labeled and restricted to an identity.
Considering Kinsey’s sordid background and questionable and unethical research practices, I’m stunned that his work is even acknowledged today.
But you have to admit that sexuality continuum allows for some sexual fluidity.
I think this fluidity is greatly exaggerated. No doubt there are people who are bisexual or who have varied preferences, but I am of the opinion that we are dealing with a cultural phenomenon: a disdain for heteronormative behavior, a flood of social media influencers, messaging from Hollywood and universities, and an obsession with sexual identity. As someone who works on a college campus, has a daughter in college, and a son in high school, my observation is that intersectionality wins the day. The more sexual identities you add to your bio, the more noble you are.
You may be right. In a number of historical periods and places, gay sex was accepted as long as a man was married and had children. As long as a man fulfilled his heteronormative role, he could engage in gay sex without suffering sanctions. Did the married man prefer sex with men? Did the married man engage in gay sex because sex with a woman outside of marriage was prohibited? We know less about women’s sex lives. Historical the sex act has not been seen as a part of one’s identity. Maybe the conversation needs to turn to monogamy
My understanding—correct me if I’m wrong—was that in these societies you’re describing, penetration was a sign of power. A man could have sex with whomever he pleased as long as it was not a person of higher status. It was into this environment that Christianity was introduced, attracting large numbers of women because of the favorable and esteemed view it held of the female sex, its introduction of mutual consent, and the way it called out the shenanigans of men. I find this so fascinating…
Margo, just for a chuckle, I know some gay men who don't like the pride parade either! They think it's embarrassing :)
Especially some of the costumes that reveal EVERYTHING!
Some gay activists suggest that gay rights have been achieved and those who bound their gay identity with activism are at a loss.
I still believe that teaching women's history and lgbtq history are types of activism. However, I've never believed in replicating my thinking and try to keep an open mind when students share their ideas. Shutting me down or shutting down their classmates is a new phenomenon. Thank you for sharing an interesting perspective.
This is a great piece and I wish you luck but I fear that the ever encroaching tribal identity where the focus on what separates us rather than what we share in common is the future. The enlightenment is just more proof of white , male colonization. We are looking at a generation that values opinion over knowledge and woe unto those heretics who disagree.
I cannot tell you how many times I've played that class over and over in my mind when students told me that wouldn't read about Native Americans unless the article was written by a Native American. They insinuated I didn't look hard enough for an article written by a Native American. The students really wanted to be affirmed, and it took me most of the semester to figure that out.
Pt 2....Just to be clear I do not envy you your task. I was trained by nuns in my formative years; expectations, accountability , consequences. I have marked with a heavy red pen most of my life. I would never survive trying to teach today.
Students are different today, they really are. As an undergraduate, I would never have told a professor what they could assign. I feel caught between having respect for authority and questioning authority. Teaching is hard
Hard is an understatement. I was going with Sisyphus but I think my take on Prometheus is closer. I decided early in my youth that he was punished not because fire brought heat but because it brought light and so many people just do not want to see. (starting with the nuns who realized they had a heretic on their hands). Showing up every class hoping to enlighten them only to have your liver ripped out and devoured seems spot on but ladies' choice here.
Wonderful imagery. After 25 years of teaching, I am only now realizing that I have to find sustenance in knowing that I am making an effort to educate and I can no longer beat myself up when students don't do their share of the work.
I do have to give the nuns some credit. There was no slacking off allowed. They assumed you were capable of doing the work and held you to it.
I had a plaque made for my desk, “Warning, I was trained by nuns: expectations, accountability,.consequences.” The religious propaganda was a whole nother story though I think I actually benefited from being exposed to that type of indoctrination. It was good training for the outside world.
I'm not sure "affirmed" is the word I would use. Feeling more like "catered to" as part of entitlement. Will there be a test to see if they are NA enough if there was intermarriage? Is there a target percentage? Is there a panel that will decide that and pass judgement or can they just "self identify"? But. you're the one teaching the class. Increasingly this feels like the Red Guard and they're writing their own book as they march on. It would be a mistake to believe it can't happen here.
“Catered to” works for me. Many of my colleagues believe as the students believe. The power dynamics have been inverted. I cater, they review my services and if I am found unacceptable, they turn to “management.”
very well said
This was an interesting read! I would be exhausted by teaching the classes you describe, but I would like to take your class (or would if I could go back in time).
Your starting the class by being very upfront with students about standards and content is key -- I think we'd all have a lot less trouble if professors did that. Trying to teach or learn in an environment where students feel entitled to shout out disagreement and tell the teacher what the syllabus should consist of is a waste of time.
Thank you for your kind comments.
We are all biased, and there is no interpretation of history that is not biased. What bothers me is the people who think their bias is some sort of absolute. As we consider the incredible amount of time and energy being put into various studies of sexual practices, we might want to consider why equal effort isn't put into other equally important subject matter. (I can see such courses for psych majors, but how much of it do history majors really need?)
How about the history of capitalism, examined DISPATIONATELY? After all, capitalism is the reason so many have the time and energy to examine human sexuality. Human sexuality has been of great interest to everyone over the years, but not so many people felt they needed to study it to death.
How about the history of the Age of Enlightenment? That one is huge. I've just now started connecting the dots between the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.
I'm a graduate from the Age of Vietnam (Yes, I just made that up.) In the 1960s it was all Vietnam, all the time in college. All of history and current events were measured in relation to the Vietnam war. But even at that, nearly no one had a clue of the actual history of Vietnam. No one had any depth of knowledge concerning the major players, the Soviet Union, France, China and the USA. There were, as alluded to by Ms. Fischer concerning her current courses, good guys and bad guys, and nobody understood anything deeper than that.
I suspect that most people reading this have basic beliefs (not knowledge, beliefs) about who the good guys and bad guys were in the Vietnam war. But how many can dispassionately explain the world history that resulted in that war? I think that's the crux of the problem. Be it Vietnam, or sexuality, or capitalism, so many people think they are educated, but are not. So many people seek affirmation of their beliefs rather greater comprehension, and call it education.
Although training to be a historian requires understanding how and why interpretations of the past vary, it is only in the past decade that I’ve come to recognize that some of my colleagues don’t recognize their own biases. I try to be fair to the sources. I also know that the questions that I ask about the past are informed by the present.
History majors tend to take more geographical or chronological courses than my classes. I tend to draw students from other majors. LGBTQ history draws the curious. I’ve found that young women hesitate to take women’s history out of fear of being identified as a feminist or a lesbian or both. My LGBTQ students don’t seem to have that same kind of fear of being labeled.
THIS: “After all, capitalism is the reason so many have the time and energy to examine human sexuality.”
GV, in your experience is the pendulum swinging back a little? I know many people want to see the governments legislate LGBTQ+ out of existence, but I don't think that's the way. I'm hoping for excellent teachers like you to assert your education and experience, and not let students dictate.
I would like to say that there is no going back. Alas, history teaches us that this isn’t true. I think the gay alliance with radical transgender activists has not been good for public perceptions of lgb.
No they haven’t! Just like latter-day feminists have managed to irritate just about everyone, including women. Thanks for responding.
It breaks my heart, the direction modern feminism.
Thank you for sharing, this is a fascinating piece. If you’re able to share the syllabus for these courses, I would love to review the readings.
The syllabus itself for both the lgbtq and the trans class is cumbersome because it was created in a learning management system which does not translate well into a pdf. However, I could put together a bibliography if you are interested. Something I am doing this semester is running academic articles through ChatGPT to shorten them and make the language more accessible for my students.
I would love to see the bibliography! That is frustrating that you need to make the language more accessible for college students but I’m glad you have tools to do it.
I will get the bibliography together but not before the weekend as my day job is demanding.😁
Amazing! Can’t wait
Sorry, I haven't gotten the bibliography to you. I recommended Paul Halsall's People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/index.asp to another reader. You would probably find that useful.
Thank you! Much appreciated, I’ll check it out
Very good informated about the subject:"Gender" (History)....
STICKS & STONES: LGBTQ History is a history class, not a consciousness-raising or social-justice workshop.. (That is good point to mention!)
I learned my lesson with my trans history class. I have to let my students know immediately that history is an academic discipline with rules. I teach neither "feel good" nor "feel bad" history. I want brains working in my classes.
All I can think of is the red guard. Terrifying. We’re doomed.
Thank you for this evocative look at what you are dealing with in a corner of academia that doesn’t get enough attention. It was a very compelling read!
Thank you.
A great resource is Paul Halsall's People with a History: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/index.asp The bibliography will direct you to online and offline resources. Invaluable.
One of my favorite books is Gay Life and Culture: A World History edited by Robert Aldrich. The articles vary in quality, but what I love about this book is that it is almost a coffee table book with LOTS of lush illustrations. You can often find a cheap used copy online.
Favorite historians include: Leila Rupp, Martin Duberman, George Chauncey, Jr., Susan Stryker, and David M. Halperin. These are more "old school" historians but their work is accessible and (I think) still the gold standard in LBGTQ history.
There are several books & articles that I can recommend. I will get back to you with the citations. Thanks for asking.