Queer Texts and the Cold War: How Nationalism and Domesticity Shaped U.S
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Queer Texts and the Cold War: How Nationalism and Domesticity Shaped U.S. Lesbian and Gay Writing, 1945-1960 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota and the Department of American Studies by Angela E. Galik In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2009 Dr. Edén Torres, Advisor Copyright © Angela E. Galik, June 2009. Acknowledgements The best part of completing this dissertation is that I get to reflect with joy and gratitude on the many people who have helped and supported me in my journey through graduate school, through the development and writing of the dissertation itself, and through all the surprises and transitions that Life came up with along the way. I offer my most sincere and humble thanks and appreciation to all of those people now, with the faith that if I accidentally forget to mention any names, my gratitude will nonetheless be felt by all who have contributed to my success. The faculty in American Studies and English (and a few other fields) with whom I have had the great privilege to work during my years at the University of Minnesota are truly beyond compare. I cannot imagine a more passionate, committed, brilliant group of professors. Most importantly and most remarkably, not only are the American Studies faculty accomplished and well-respected scholars, each and every one of them are also dedicated to graduate education and supportive of graduate students themselves. At every stage, I knew that I could trust my professors not only to challenge me, but also to help me to refine my thinking, polish my writing, expand my awareness, narrow my questions, own my arguments, and send my work out into the world. My advisor, Dr. Edén Torres, has been not only an intellectual mentor, but also a wonderful model of an artist-activist-academic. Her example continues to inspire me to seek ways to integrate all of these ways of looking at and engaging with the world. She demonstrates, with her teaching, her writing, and her work for social change, that it is possible to approach life as a whole person. I offer my deepest thanks to Edén, and to the other members of my committee: Dr. Elaine Tyler May, whose own work on Cold War cultural politics was the original inspiration for this dissertation; Dr. Roderick Ferguson, whose theory seminars awakened in me a fascination with the workings of ideology; and Dr. Omise'eke Tinsley, whose conviction that art can be a site of theory-making solidified my confidence in my methods of reading texts. It has been an honor, a privilege, and a joy to share ideas with all of you. I also want to thank Dr. Carol Miller, who retired before I could snag her for my committee, but whose work with Native American women's literatures as embedded in their social contexts was a source of much inspiration and encouragement for me. I would like to thank those friends, colleagues, and teachers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, my alma mater, who opened new doors of thought for me; who first awakened in me the awareness of injustice in the world, and who lit the flame of passion for social change in my heart; who encouraged me in my thinking and my writing, and who believed in my potential. I am especially grateful and indebted to Professors Laura Delbrugge, Barbara Kraszewski, Judith Villa, Wendy Carse, Susan Comfort, and John Marsden; and to my fellow students whose friendship and intellectual companionship indelibly shaped my own trajectory, especially Jen Groucutt, Dorry Altman, Jim Fulton, Aimee Dorofey, Molly Stoltz, and Amy Weir (along with many others). The members of IUP Pride Alliance and Dimensiones Españolas supported me emotionally and intellectually, and offered me opportunities to connect my intellectual work with my activism in the community. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the Robert E. Cook Honors College, its director Janet Goebel, and the many extremely smart folks whom I was privileged to call my friends and classmates. In Minnesota, I found a new home and a wide and wonderful network of people and organizations who together supported me in every possible way. I am extremely grateful to the American Studies graduate students, especially my own cohort, for the warm and friendly intellectual community I experienced here. To all of you, your company and your conversation has been fascinating; your insights, rigorous and stimulating; and your questions, challenging and growth-inducing. I am grateful to all of my graduate school colleagues. To Maura Seale and Rafia Mirza, your company made my first few years in Minnesota much more fun, and your i fashion tips have altered my approach to style forever. To Melissa Williams and Steve Young, your support and friendship got me through. Your example and your support helped me learn how to have a life that balances scholarship, activism, fun, and family. You were my mentors as well as my friends, having already a few years in the program when I met you; you helped me through each stage of my journey. You even gave me tips on how to make my wedding reception run smoothly. I could not have done this without you and I cannot thank you enough. The other constant in my life during my years in Minnesota, the rock on which I always leaned, was One Voice Mixed Chorus, the Twin Cities' LGBT/queer choir. Its members were the first group of people I met in this state and they were the last people I saw before I moved away – after my final concert with the group I left for my new life in Missouri. One Voice members were and are my Minnesota family. During my five years with the chorus, I benefited immensely from the musical instruction of director Jane Ramseyer Miller. The opportunities I had to make music with this group fed my heart and soul. One Voice gave me a break from the pressures of my academic life and it also gave me dear friends who supported and encouraged me through every step of my graduate school journey. Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude. I hold all of you in my heart, but I especially want to thank Sara Pecor, Kristen Schweiloch, Jennifer Hayes, Shannon Flood, Cathy Sherwin, Shari Pleiss, Lynne Larsen, and all my altos – the curiously strong section. For stimulating conversation as well as much-needed (and appreciated) fun in the Twin Cities, I thank friends Becky Klink, Michael Anderson, and Eileen Klenner. For spiritual mentorship and friendship, I thank Lynn Woodland and the members of Tuesday Night Group and Quantum Spirit Unlimited. For providing me with a summer job for four years and an unforgettable learning experience on MANY levels, I thank Underwater Adventures Aquarium in the Mall of America. For a lot of good organic food and a lot of listening, I thank Leigh Lockhart of the Main Squeeze. For many massages (much needed after long hours of writing at the computer), infusions of good vibes, and continual encouragement, I thank my friends from the Healing Arts Center in St. Louis: Ruth Heyman, Sallie Spence, MJ Mullins, Ann Kaufmann, Brigid Clarkin, Tom Tessereau, and everyone else. During the two and a half years since I finished my coursework, during which I have been living in Columbia, Missouri, and working on this dissertation, another incredible group of people have come into my life, changing me in ways that are still coming to light, and setting me on a new path of personal, creative, and spiritual development. The Sufi community of Columbia welcomed me, supported me through all the challenges and emotional highs and lows of dissertation-writing, and offered a space where I could go and be "charged up" with inspiration. To my great surprise and delight, within this small community I met another American Studies Ph.D. who had chosen a non-academic career path. She both served as an example of the kind of work I could do (and proof that it can be done!), and gave me a chance to talk about my own work and the field itself, even though I was far from my home department. To Joan McElroy, thank you for being my intellectual community in Missouri, thank you for your loving friendship and your heartfelt encouragement. You were truly a godsend. Thank you to all of the Sufis who welcomed me into the circle of your hearts, and thank you particularly to Hakima Tomi Greentree for being my teacher, for helping me tune my instrument for a different music. With an overflowing heart, I thank the people most important in my life, who have been there through all of this, who have supported me unconditionally in ways material, emotional, and spiritual – my family. To my parents, Jim Galik and Terry Galik, you have been so unflagging in your belief in me; you pulled me out of the financial fire many times while I was focused on graduate school; you never had the shadow of a doubt that I could be whatever I wanted to be. You are both inspirational human beings who have never stopped reading and learning – you taught me by your example how to be a lifelong learner, and encouraged me to pursue whatever knowledge I wanted. Your dependability and your faith in me have always given me the ii confidence to soar, knowing that whatever happened I could always come home to you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you also to my brother Chris Galik, for, among other things, emergency computer assistance, good music suggestions, and very, very bad jokes (in the family tradition).