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First CLAGS Benefit Proposal

This press release for CLAGS’ first fundraising event was published on October 1st, 1989. The event, hosted by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and feminist icon Gloria Steinem was part of CLAGS' effort to raise the $50,000 required to formally operate as an institution at the CUNY Graduate Center. The benefit served as a celebration for the recent book launch of Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past, which was edited by the founding director of CLAGS, Martin Duberman, as well as noteworthy queer scholars Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey. The book was widely successful, earning two Lambda Literary Awards, an award from the American Library Association, and a Stonewall Books Award nomination. Held on November 17th, the event was successful in raising over $11,000.

Although formally instituted at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1991, CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies was first conceived 5 years earlier by Martin Duberman, one of the first historians to embrace the field of Queer Studies, then in its infancy. As the first university-based center for LGBTQ research, CLAGS continues to demonstrate its dedication to advancing Queer Studies by hosting public events showcasing queer research and sponsoring fellowships to support queer scholars. Among its many contributions, CLAGS annually puts on at least one major conference and holds the Kessler Award Lecture every fall to celebrate a queer scholar who has made a notable contribution to the field of queer studies.

Source | CLAGS Archive
Creator | Saslow, Jim
Date Created | October 1, 1989
Rights | Copyright CLAGS Archive
Item Type | Text (Memorandum)
Cite This document | Saslow, Jim, “First CLAGS Benefit Proposal ,” CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed March 19, 2024, https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/7672.

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