CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

This survey was created in 2001 by CLAGS as an attempt to compile a comprehensive list of universities, primarily located in the United States that offered programs in LGBT studies. Under the direction of CLAGS executive directory Alisa Solomon, Paisley Currah and Jill Dolan, both of whom also served as executive directors of CLAGS, spearheaded this project. The survey was conducted as part of the preparation for the Futures of the Field: Building LGBT Studies into the 21st Century University conference held by CLAGS on April 20 and 21, 2001. Although incomplete, the survey includes information on 28 different programs. Since the survey was conducted, many more colleges have begun to offer queer studies.

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, then infantile, field of Queer Studies. Duberman sensed the need for a formal center devoted to queer research. 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 notable 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.