John D'Emilio
Encyclopedia
John D'Emilio is a professor
of history
and of women's and gender studies
at the University of Illinois at Chicago
. He taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University
in 1982, where his advisor was William Leuchtenburg
. A Guggenheim
fellow in 1998 and National Endowment for the Humanities
fellow in 1997, he served as Director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
from 1995 to 1997.
in 1984 for his most widely cited book, Sexual politics, sexual communities, which is considered the definitive history of the U.S. homophile movement from 1940 to 1970. His biography of the civil-rights
leader Bayard Rustin
, Lost prophet: Bayard Rustin and the quest for peace and justice in America, won the Stonewall Book Award
for non-fiction in 2004. He was the 2005 recipient of the Brudner Prize
at Yale University
.
His and Estelle Freedman's book Intimate matters: A history of sexuality in America was cited in Justice Anthony Kennedy
's opinion in Lawrence v. Texas
, the 2003 American Supreme Court case overturning all remaining anti-sodomy law
s.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of history
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...
and of women's and gender studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
. He taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1982, where his advisor was William Leuchtenburg
William Leuchtenburg
William E. Leuchtenburg is William Rand Kenan Jr. professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Chapel Hill and a leading scholar of the life and career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He is the author of more than a dozen books on 20th century history ,...
. A Guggenheim
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
fellow in 1998 and National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
fellow in 1997, he served as Director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...
from 1995 to 1997.
Honors and awards
D'Emilio was awarded the Stonewall Book AwardStonewall Book Award
Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association , the Stonewall Book Award is for LGBT books...
in 1984 for his most widely cited book, Sexual politics, sexual communities, which is considered the definitive history of the U.S. homophile movement from 1940 to 1970. His biography of the civil-rights
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
leader Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
, Lost prophet: Bayard Rustin and the quest for peace and justice in America, won the Stonewall Book Award
Stonewall Book Award
Sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association , the Stonewall Book Award is for LGBT books...
for non-fiction in 2004. He was the 2005 recipient of the Brudner Prize
Brudner Prize
The James Robert Brudner Memorial Prize and Lecture at Yale University celebrates lifetime accomplishment and scholarly contributions in the field of lesbian and gay studies. It is bestowed annually by the Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale...
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...
.
His and Estelle Freedman's book Intimate matters: A history of sexuality in America was cited in Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
's opinion 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...
, the 2003 American Supreme Court case overturning all remaining anti-sodomy law
Sodomy law
A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms...
s.
Works
- Author
- Lost Prophet: Bayard Rustin and the Quest for Peace and Justice in America (The Free Press, 2003)
- The World Turned: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and Culture (Duke University Press, 2002)
- Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University (New York: Routledge, 1992)
- Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983; 2nd edition, with a new preface and afterward, 1998)
- Co-author
- With Estelle Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1988; 2nd expanded edition, University of Chicago Press, 1997)
- Editor
- The Civil Rights Struggle: Leaders in Profile (New York: Facts-on-File, Inc., 1979), with an introduction
- The Universities and the Gay Experience: A Conference Sponsored by the Women and Men of the Gay Academic Union (New York, 1974), with an introduction
- Co-editor
- With William Turner and Urvashi Vaid, Creating Change: Sexuality, Public Policy and Civil Rights (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000)
External links
- D'Emilio's CV
- Barnes & Noble: Meet the Author