CLGBTH SPRING 2015 1 with Mixed Emotions, We Write Our Final Column
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Spring 2015 ó Vol. 28:2/Vol. 29:1 ó http://www.clgbthistory.org IN THIS ISSUE OUTGOING CO-CHAIRS’ COLUMN Fall 2014 Outgoing Co-Chairs’ Column 1 Incoming Co-Chairs’ Column 3 With mixed emotions, we write our final column Prize Winners 4 as co-chairs. We have worked hard these three OAH John D’Emilio Prize 5 years to advance the organization as a space for Calls for Nominations 6 New Book Announcements 7 LGBTQ history and historians to flourish. As two Book Reviews 8 mid-career scholars, we have had to balance Committee on LGBT History commitments with Reviews in this issue obligations at our own institutions, public Mark Cornwall, The Devil’s Wall: The Nationalist Youth history engagement, and family duties. As such, Mission of Heinz Rutha (Geoffrey J. Giles) we have not been able to do all we imagined with St. Sukie De la Croix, Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT the committee. Still, serving together as co-chairs Chicago before Stonewall (Lance Poston) has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our careers. We have been able support David M. Halperin and Valerie Traub, eds. Gay Shame scholars from graduate students to field leaders, (Jeffrey Cisneros) fundamentally improve the experience of the S.N. Nyeck and Marc Epprecht, eds. Sexual Diversity in AHA annual meeting, strengthen organizational Africa: Politics, Theory, Citizenship (Charles Gossett) infrastructure, and give the CLGBTH a decisive public voice on policy and issues. On a personal Daniel Winunwe Rivers, Radical Relations: Lesbian note, we have also built a lasting friendship with Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II (Gillian Frank) each other for which we are profoundly grateful. Tim Teeman, In Bed with Gore Vidal: Hustlers, Hollywood, None of these accomplishments would have been and the Private World of an American Master (Nikolai possible without the focus and effort of the Endres) committee’s other officer: Phil Tiemeyer. Phil not Phil Tiemeyer, Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in only extended his term but also combined roles the History of Male Flight Attendants (Ian Darnell) of secretary and treasurer to make the organization much more effective. Our Graham Willett and Yorick Smaal, eds. Intimacy, Violence communications comrades have been equally and Activism (Jeffrey Cisneros) indispensible: David Palmer streamlined our Committee on LGBT History web presence, newsletter editor Stephanie Co-chairs: Amanda Littauer and Nick Syrett Gilmore pushed us to go digital, and Katie Batza Book Review Editor: Gillian Frank has provided beautifully edited book reviews. Newsletter Editor: April Haynes Katie is moving on after this issue, and so we thank her for her service. Join us in welcoming CLGBTH SPRING 2015 1 Gill Frank into the role in 2015. Our governing Sexualities is easily among the best board members have also given useful counsel at parties of the AHA. key moments and completed important projects, 5. Social media has grown as a mechanism such as updating LGBT history syllabi on our to support our work. Don maintained the website. Facebook page for the past three years, doubling page “likes” from 720 to 1435, Not to gloat, but check out highlights from the with “fans” from 45 countries, and making organization’s accomplishments over the past the space a more robust place for three years: information sharing and interaction. We hope the next governing board reengages 1. Our membership system allows more our Twitter handle as well! people to be active members (and for the 6. We oversaw the selection of 10 book, organization to collect more dues) than article, and public history prizes, with the ever before. Annual membership now assistance of expert prize committee runs from AHA to AHA. Online chairs and members. We thank 2015 registration through Paypal has provided prize committee members Estelle us with an efficient way to collect dues Freedman, Mir Yarfitz, and T.J. Tallie for and donations. Take a look at how easy it their service. The CLGBTH under our is to renew and/or add a small year-end administration also launched a new (tax-deductIble!) donation. tradition: the Boswell and Nestle Prizes. 2. We have drastically cut costs by switching 7. Finally, our leadership on promoting to a digital newsletter. This will allow the LGBT-inclusive K-12 history education organization to direct resources toward has been solidified through the other vital work that advances LGBTQ publication this fall of our historical scholarship. groundbreaking report, Making the 3. Online payment and the digital newsletter Framework FAIR: California’s History- pushed us to build an up-to-date database Social Science Framework Proposed of current and former members that LGBT Revisions Related to the FAIR includes current emails. Through this Education Act. Don worked with database, we have a powerful tool for professors Leila Rupp (UC Santa Barbara) communication for everything from and David Donahue (Mills College) to elections to calls for action. coordinate contributions from 20 4. Our third “conference within a scholars from around the U.S. After conference” at the American Historical publication, Don worked tirelessly on Association meeting in New York City was behalf of the CLGBTH in coalition with a smashing success. Through this new Our Family Coalition, Equality format, we have gotten more people on California, and the GSA Network to the AHA program than ever. Our ensure that as many of the report’s programming has generated numerous recommendations as possible find their publications, collaborations, and way into California’s K-12 U.S. History networks. The increasingly big footprint Framework. In addition to these coalition has also provided our members spaces of partners, parents, students, educators, comfort, inquiry, and respite at the AHA. administrators, scholars, and In NYC, we also held a business meeting. organizations have lent their voices to a Our co-hosted reception with the process that mixes politics, community Coordinating Council for Women in organizing, and scholarship. Don is deeply History and the Berkshire Conference grateful for their activism. He reported at on the History of Women, Genders, and AHA on the outcomes to date of this two- CLGBTH SPRING 2015 2 year (and ongoing) effort. Making a lasting and meaningful change in this INCOMING CO-CHAIRS COLUMN blueprint for the ways that California Spring 2015 educators teach U.S. history will have implications far beyond the state for Greetings from your new co-chairs, Amanda generations to come. Littauer and Nick Syrett. Amanda is an assistant professor of history and the Center for the Study We are excited to pass the torch to incoming co- of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Northern chairs Nick Syrett and Amanda Littauer. We are Illinois University, and Nick is an associate particularly pleased to continue the practice of professor of history at the University of Northern differently gendered co-chairs with this Colorado. Although following in the footsteps of transition. We hope CLGBTH members will Don and Jennie is daunting, we are happy to expand this commitment in the future, and serve in leadership roles in this dynamic and specifically elect more trans* leadership. We are exciting organization (if we do say so ourselves). absolutely thrilled that so many people have stepped up and offered to serve on the governing Welcome to this unusual double issue board. newsletter, and thanks for your patience. Our intrepid former newsletter editor, Stephanie The Committee on LGBT History has such a vital Gilmore, suffered from a family emergency and role to play in our lives as historians and on the loss last fall that required her full attention, and shape of this profession that continues to be we wish her continued healing. We have now largely white, heterosexual, cisgender, and male. transitioned to our new newsletter editor (and Jennie is certain that the connections she made board member), April Haynes, whom we thank to the committee when in graduate school for taking over sooner than expected. (serving as newsletter editor when Marc Stein and Leisa Meyer chaired) have made meaningful The Committee on LGBT History is off to strong queer historical networks possible. Don could start this year, which we kicked off with a robust not be more grateful to have revitalized and AHA mini-conference on “Promiscuous grown his relationship to such a vibrant Interdisciplinarities.” Although the AHA accepted community of colleagues and friends. His service only four panels for their regular program, we as co-chair has allowed him to propel forward a supported another nine panels through our number of queer historical scholarly, public affiliate status for a total of thirteen impressive history, and advocacy projects. We are strongest and diverse sessions. We also had a well- and smartest when we practice collaboration attended business meeting, a dynamic discussion and imagine collective action. The Committee on with the new board, and a (crowded!) reception LGBT History can and does develop spaces for that we co-sponsored with the Coordinating people who too often feel excluded. It also makes Council on Women in History and the Berkshire the profession more affirming of queer people Conference of Women Historians. One of our and scholarship. We thank you for giving us the first duties as new co-chairs was to announce the chance to play our role. The work continues. winners of two prizes. The John Boswell Prize for an outstanding book in queer history was Jennifer Brier and Don Romesburg awarded to co-winners Afsaneh Najmabadi and Phil Tiemeyer and the Joan Nestle Prize for an outstanding paper written by an undergraduate in queer history was awarded to Shay Gonzales (see further description later in the newsletter). Congratulations to all three winners! CLGBTH SPRING 2015 3 Moving forward to next year’s awards, this by clicking the “Donate” button.