George Chauncey
Encyclopedia
George Chauncey is a professor of history
at Yale University
. He is best known as the author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (1994).
in 1989, where he studied with Nancy Cott and David Montgomery. From 1991 to 2006, he taught in the Department of History at the University of Chicago
, rising from assistant professor to full professor of history. In 2006, he joined the Yale faculty.
His book Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (1994) was published to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellions
. It combined social, political, and cultural history, and in it Chauncey argues that early twentieth century New York had a thriving, open gay culture. Using newspaper accounts from a wide variety of mainstream and underground publications, the archives of reform organizations, police and court records, popular cartoons and caricatures, guidebooks, and maps, Chauncey offers a rich and textured account of urban gay life. The book was acclaimed for several original findings, among them the malleability of sexual identities (he finds, for example, widespread acceptance of homosexual practices among working-class, heteronormative men), the use of house concert
s as covers for sexual activity, a discussion of the "panzy craze", and the relative novelty of the category of "closeted" gay men. According to Chauncey, it was not until the 1930s and afterward that a strict regime of policing gay male sexuality emerged. It was in this period, he contends, that homosexual behavior began to move underground.
Chauncey has written a historical defense of the concept of gay marriage. He is currently finishing a history of gay New York from the mid-twentieth century to the present.
Chauncey is the recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Humanities Center
, the American Council of Learned Societies
, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library
.
in several major gay rights cases, and he was the organizer and lead author of the Historians' Amicus Brief in Lawrence v. Texas
(2003), which weighed heavily in the Supreme Court's landmark decision overturning the nation's remaining sodomy laws. In that brief, Chauncey argued for the historical specificity of understandings of sodomy, challenging the reasoning in Bowers v. Hardwick
(1986) that antisodomy laws were an enduring feature of the American legal system.
Chauncey most notably testified as an expert witness in the California Proposition 8
case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger
, on behalf of the successful plaintiff
s. In the Perry case, the Court found him to be "qualified to offer testimony on social history, especially as it relates to gays and lesbians." The court recounted his academic qualifications, citing his CV, his authorship of books, and original research using primary sources. The decision cited Chauncey's testimony on a dozen issues of fact or points of law
that were relevant to the case.
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He is best known as the author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (1994).
Life and works
Chauncey received his Ph.D. in history from YaleYALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1989, where he studied with Nancy Cott and David Montgomery. From 1991 to 2006, he taught in the Department of History at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, rising from assistant professor to full professor of history. In 2006, he joined the Yale faculty.
His book Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (1994) was published to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellions
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
. It combined social, political, and cultural history, and in it Chauncey argues that early twentieth century New York had a thriving, open gay culture. Using newspaper accounts from a wide variety of mainstream and underground publications, the archives of reform organizations, police and court records, popular cartoons and caricatures, guidebooks, and maps, Chauncey offers a rich and textured account of urban gay life. The book was acclaimed for several original findings, among them the malleability of sexual identities (he finds, for example, widespread acceptance of homosexual practices among working-class, heteronormative men), the use of house concert
House concert
A house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance art that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment rec room, lawn, or back yard....
s as covers for sexual activity, a discussion of the "panzy craze", and the relative novelty of the category of "closeted" gay men. According to Chauncey, it was not until the 1930s and afterward that a strict regime of policing gay male sexuality emerged. It was in this period, he contends, that homosexual behavior began to move underground.
Chauncey has written a historical defense of the concept of gay marriage. He is currently finishing a history of gay New York from the mid-twentieth century to the present.
Chauncey is the recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. It is the only major independent institute for advanced study in all fields of the humanities in the United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any...
, the American Council of Learned Societies
American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies , founded in 1919, is a private nonprofit federation of seventy scholarly organizations.ACLS is best known as a funder of humanities research through fellowships and grants awards. ACLS Fellowships are designed to permit scholars holding the Ph.D...
, and the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Expert testimony
Chauncey has testified as an expert witnessExpert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
in several major gay rights cases, and he was the organizer and lead author of the Historians' Amicus Brief in Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case. In the 6-3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by proxy, invalidated sodomy laws in the thirteen other states where they remained in existence, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in...
(2003), which weighed heavily in the Supreme Court's landmark decision overturning the nation's remaining sodomy laws. In that brief, Chauncey argued for the historical specificity of understandings of sodomy, challenging the reasoning in Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick, , is a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld, in a 5-4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults when applied to homosexuals. Seventeen years after Bowers v. Hardwick, the Supreme Court...
(1986) that antisodomy laws were an enduring feature of the American legal system.
Chauncey most notably testified as an expert witness in the California Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California challenging the federal constitutionality of Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that amended the California Constitution to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples,...
, on behalf of the successful plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s. In the Perry case, the Court found him to be "qualified to offer testimony on social history, especially as it relates to gays and lesbians." The court recounted his academic qualifications, citing his CV, his authorship of books, and original research using primary sources. The decision cited Chauncey's testimony on a dozen issues of fact or points of law
Point of Law
Point of Law is a game in the 3M bookshelf game series. It was designed by Michel Lipman and published in 1972. The game includes a book giving summaries of one hundred real-life court cases, each with four possible outcomes. The players discuss the case, then each decides which of the outcomes is...
that were relevant to the case.
Works
- Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. Basic Books, 1995. 496pp. ISBN 0465026214
- Why Marriage? The History Shaping Today's Debate Over Gay Equality. Basic Books, 2005. 224 pp. ISBN 0465009581