LGBT History and Culture in the Bay Area

Catalog description

Since at least World War II, the San Francisco Bay Area has served as a center for LGBTQ life in the United States. It emerged early as a place where queer people could congregate and interact more freely, but it also was frequently at the vanguard when it came to organizing around issues of gender and sexuality. At the same time, as some queer communities of the Bay Area have done extremely well, others have continued to have to struggle for their rights, their place and their say.This course explores the genesis and legacy of different queer communities and explores their impact on Bay Area culture. Topics discussed will include the Beats, lesbian separatism, the response to AIDS, the relationship between different LGBTQ communities and the police, trans activism, prostitution and sex worker rights. The course combines literature, art and poetry of seven decades with historical documents, as well as local visits and walking tours.The last third of the course allows students to pursue archival or oral history research projects, as students unearth their own stories of queer San Francisco.