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|
Committee on Lesbian and Gay History Survey on LGBTQ History
Careers
By
Marc Stein
June 2001
Members of the Committee on Lesbian and
Gay History (CLGH), an affiliated society of the American Historical
Association (AHA), have long been concerned about the status of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (lgbtq) history and historians
within the historical profession. While CLGH discussions have often
focussed on the problems and possibilities faced by historians who
themselves identify as lgbtq and on the failures and successes of the
profession in incorporating lgbtq history into college and university
teaching and research, the Committee has also concentrated on the graduate
school and job market experiences of those who complete PhD dissertations
on lgbtq history topics. Collectively, these individuals have been
responsible for many of the advances that lgbtq history has enjoyed in the
last 30 years, but they are also the people who, along with independent
scholars, have often been most vulnerable to institutional, professional,
and departmental discrimination. A recent survey of 44 scholars who have
completed or are completing PhD dissertations that deal with lgbtq
history, in graduate programs based in the United States and Canada,
highlights the difficulties faced by many in the field.
The survey
was conducted from August 2000 to January 2001. The analysis that follows
is based on 44 of the 51 responses received. Of the seven respondents
whose answers are not discussed here, two did not indicate that their
dissertations dealt with lgbtq history; four completed PhDs in comparative
literature, sociology, art and art history, or French studies; and one
completed a PhD in Europe and lives in Europe. The remaining 44 responses
are believed to cover the vast majority of lgbtq history dissertations
produced or in production in history, American Studies, or liberal arts
programs in the United States and Canada. Please note, however, that the
survey has not captured all people who have completed or are in the
process of completing dissertations that deal in part or in full with
lgbtq history. One person who completed such a dissertation in the 1970s
has died; three people who completed such dissertations in the early 1990s
did not respond. This survey also has not captured people who left their
PhD programs in the course of doing dissertations on lgbtq history. At
least four people did so in the 1990s. For a bibliography of lgbtq history
dissertations, see the CLGH Newsletter 14, no. 2 (Fall 2000): 8-11.
Finally, the survey does not cover the experiences of people who have
produced scholarship in lgbtq history as independent or post-tenure
scholars; nor does it discuss the relative successes that lgbtq historians
have had with undergraduate and graduate student enrollments, journal
publications, book publishing, and research grants and fellowships. In
fact, it is precisely the gap between these successes and the job market
problems discussed in this study that requires further analysis and
action.
This report has two purposes. One goal is to provide
information that will be valuable for those who are contemplating doing
graduate work in lgbtq history, those who are doing such work currently,
and those who are thinking about job prospects in lgbtq history. The
second goal is to provide all historians with information that will help
the history profession deal better with the field of lgbtq history in the
future than it has done in the past.
Overall, the data suggests
that despite a significant increase in the number of lgbtq history PhDs
produced over the past decade, U.S. history departments have not made a
commensurate increase in hiring such scholars to tenure-track positions.
Unless change occurs, scholars completing PhDs on lgbtq history can expect
to meet with some success in gaining part-time and temporary academic
employment, but less success in gaining tenure-track or equivalent (TTE)
positions. About half of the part-time and temporary positions will not be
in history departments, but they will likely be obtained within a
relatively short period of time after lgbtq history scholars begin
applying for them and within a relatively short period of time after (and
in some cases even before) completing the PhD. Only about half of those
completing PhDs in lgbtq history can expect to meet with success in
gaining TTE employment. The rest are likely to find themselves working in
part-time or temporary academic positions, in educational administration,
in libraries and archives, in public history, or in other non-academic
jobs. Some may do so because of personal and professional preferences, but
the majority will take non-TTE jobs because of their inability to secure
TTE positions. Of the TTE positions obtained, more than half will be in
history departments outside of the United States, in women’s
studies/gender studies units, in American Studies units, or in other
nonhistory units. Some lgbtq history PhDs will prefer to work outside of
the United States and in nonhistory units, but the majority will do so in
the context of difficulties obtaining TTE positions in U.S. history
departments. Those who succeed in obtaining TTE appointments will likely
do so within three years of first applying for them and within two years
of completing the PhD. The evidence of two decades thus suggests that,
unless things change, the majority of people completing PhDs with
dissertations on lgbtq history will not meet with success in gaining
tenure-track primary appointments in U.S. history
departments.
THE SAMPLE
Of the 44 whose survey
responses were analyzed, 59 percent are male, 41 percent are female, 82
percent live in the United States, 14 percent live in Canada, and 5
percent live in the U.K.
Table 1: Respondents by Sex and
Residence
| Male |
26 (59%) |
| Female |
18 (41%) |
| U.S. Residence |
36 (82%)
|
| Canada Residence |
6 (14%) |
| UK Residence |
2 (5%) |
As the
figures in Table 2 indicate, 32 respondents (73 percent) have completed
their PhDs. Of these 32, 18 (56 percent) are in TTE positions. When the
four non-respondents who are known to have completed lgbtq history
dissertations are included, 18 of 36 people with completed PhDs (50
percent) are in TTE positions. The majority of respondents with completed
PhDs (59 percent) are male. The majority of graduate student respondents
(58%) are male. The majority of women with completed PhDs (62 percent)
have TTE appointments. A smaller majority of men with completed PhDs (53
percent) have TTE appointments. This difference may reflect the hiring of
more female lgbtq historians in women’s studies and women’s history
positions.
Table 2: Current Positions by Rank, Sector, and
Sex
| Tenure-Track/Equivalent |
|
|
| Professor |
2 |
(5%) (2M/0F) |
| Assoc. Professor |
6 |
(14%) (2M/4F) |
| Asst. Professor/Lec |
10 |
(23%) (6M/4F) |
| Visiting Professor/Fellow |
2 |
(5%) (2M/0F) |
| Part-Time Lecturer/Adjunct* |
3 |
(7%) (2M/1F) |
| Graduate Student* |
12 |
(27%) (7M/5F) |
| Academic Administration* |
1 |
(2%) (0M/1F) |
| Public History/Library* |
4 |
(9%) (3M/1F) |
| Non-Academic/Non-Public |
4 |
(9%) (2M/2F) |
| Total |
44 (26M/18F) |
| Completed PhDs |
32 (19M/13F) |
| Completed PhDs in Tenure-Track/Equivalent Appointments |
18 (10M/8F) |
*Graduate
students, academic administrators, and public historians/librarians who
also work as part-time lecturers or adjuncts have been counted as graduate
students, academic administrators, and public historians/librarians and
not as part-time lecturers or adjuncts.
GRADUATE
SCHOOL
The 44 respondents earned or are earning their PhDs in
31 programs at 29 universities in the United States and Canada. Eleven
programs (at Duke Univ., NYU, Queen’s Univ., Rutgers Univ., Stanford
Univ., UCLA, Univ. of California at Santa Cruz, Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of
Minnesota, Univ. of Pennsylvania, and Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison) each
account for more than one respondent. These 11 schools account for a
majority (55%) of the respondents. No one program has produced a large
number of lgbtq history PhDs.
Table 3: Graduate Universities and
Programs of Respondents
| American U., History |
1 |
Brown U., American Civilization |
1 |
| Columbia U., History |
1 |
Duke U., History |
3 |
| Emory U., Liberal Arts |
1 |
Harvard U., History of Science |
1 |
| Ohio State U., History |
1 |
New York U., American Studies |
1 |
| New York U., History |
2 |
Northwestern U., History |
1 |
| Queen’s U., History |
2 |
Rutgers U., History |
2 |
| Stanford U., History |
2 |
SUNY, Binghamton, History |
1 |
| UC, Berkeley, History |
1 |
UC, Los Angeles, History |
2 |
| UC, San Diego, History |
1 |
UC, Santa Cruz, History of Consciousness |
2 |
| U. of Chicago, History |
2 |
U. of Iowa, American Studies |
1 |
| U. of Minnesota, American Studies |
1 |
U. of New Mexico |
1 |
| U. of Pennsylvania, History |
3 |
U. of Minnesota, History |
2 |
| U. of Southern California, History |
1 |
U. of North Carolina, History |
1 |
| Vanderbilt U., History |
1 |
U. of Rochester, History |
1 |
| York U., History |
1 |
U. of Wisconsin, Madison, History |
2 |
| Yale U., History |
1 |
|
|
Over 80
percent of all respondents, respondents with completed PhDs, and
respondents in TTE positions earned or are earning their PhDs in history
programs. The remainder were or are in American studies or liberal arts.
All 32 respondents with completed PhDs earned their PhDs at universities
in the United States.
Table 4: Graduate Program
Disciplines
|
All Respondents |
Completed PhDs |
Tenure-Track/Equivalent |
| History |
38 (86%) |
26 (81%) |
16 (89%) |
| American Studies |
5 (11%) |
5 (16%) |
1 (6%) |
| Liberal Arts |
1 (2%) |
1 (3%) |
1 (6%) |
There has
been a sharp increase in the number of graduate students working on lgbtq
history since the 1970s. Three respondents began graduate studies in the
1970s; 17 began in the 1980s; 24 began in the 1990s. More respondents
began graduate studies in the 1990s than began graduate studies in the
1970s and 1980s combined. Two respondents finished their PhDs in the
1980s; 24 finished in the 1990s. Twelve times as many respondents finished
in the 1990s as finished in the 1980s.
Table 5: First and Final
Years in Graduate School
|
First Year |
Final Year |
| 1970-1974 |
1 (1M/0F) |
|
| 1975-1979 |
2 (1M/1F) |
|
| 1980-1984 |
4 (1M/3F) |
1 (1M/0F) |
| 1985-1989 |
13 (10M/3F) |
1 (1M/0F) |
| 1990-1994 |
21 (12M/9F) |
9 (5M/4F) |
| 1995-1999 |
*3 (1M/2F) |
15 (8M/7F) |
| 2000 |
|
6 (4M/2F) |
| Not Completed |
|
12 (7M/5F) |
*There
are likely more people who began graduate school in 1995-1999 than is
suggested by this number.
The majority of respondents (70 percent)
are working or worked on U.S. topics. The remainder are working or worked
on Europe (9 percent), Canada (7 percent), Asia (5 percent),
historiography (5 percent), Latin America (2 percent), and US/Canada (2
percent).
Table 6: Dissertation Topics
| U.S |
31 (70%) |
Canada |
3 (7%) |
| U.S./Canada |
1 (2%) |
European |
4 (9%) |
| Asian |
2 (5%) |
Latin America |
1 (2%) |
| Historiography |
2 (5%) |
|
|
Almost
half of the respondents (48 percent) indicate that 100 percent of their
dissertation deals with lgbtq history; 27 percent indicate that 50-90
percent of their dissertation deals with lgbtq history; 25 percent
indicate that 5-35 percent of their dissertation deals with lgbtq
history.
Table 7: Percentage of Dissertation Contents Dealing
with LGBTQ Topics
| 100% LGBTQ |
21 (48%) |
| 50-90% LGBTQ |
12 (27%) |
| 5-35% LGBTQ |
11 (25%) |
A total
of 142 people have served or are serving as dissertation supervisor or
dissertation reader for the 44 respondents. Five people have supervised
more than one of the dissertations. Seventeen people have served as
supervisor or reader for more than one of the
dissertations.
Table 8: Dissertation Supervisors and
Readers
| Total Number of Dissertation Supervisors |
39* |
| Total Number of Dissertation Readers (Not Including Supervisors)
|
103 |
| Dissertation Supervisors Who Have Supervised or Are Supervising
More Than One Dissertation (William Chafe, George Chauncey, Sara
Evans, Linda Gordon, Carroll Smith-Rosenberg) |
5 |
Dissertation Supervisors and Readers Who Have Supervised, Are
Supervising, Have Served as Reader, or Are Serving as Reader for
More Than One Dissertation
(George Chauncey, William Chafe,
Lizbeth Cohen, John D’Emilio, Lisa Duggan, Sara Evans, Estelle
Freedman, Lawrence Goodwyn, Linda Gordon, Nancy Hewitt, Martha
Hodes, Thomas Holt, Michael Katz, Vanessa Schwartz, Bonnie Smith,
Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, Daniel Walkowitz) |
17 |
*One
supervisor (Carroll Smith-Rosenberg) accounts for three dissertations;
four others account for two dissertations; one respondent had two
supervisors.
The average length of time it has taken respondents to
complete their PhDs is 7.8 years. More than three-quarters of those who
have finished (78%) did so in 6-9 years.
Table 9: Years of
Graduate Study
| 2-5 Years* |
3 (3M/0F) |
| 6-7 Years |
13 (5M/8F) |
| 8-9 Years |
12 (9M/3F) |
| 10-17 Years |
4 (2M/2F) |
| Not Completed |
12 (7M/5F) |
| Average For Completed PhDs |
7.8 Years |
| Male |
7.4 Years
|
| Female |
8.3 Years |
*One
person finished in two years; this person completed a book as an
independent scholar before beginning graduate school; the book was then
accepted as his dissertation.
JOB SEARCH
Thirty-one
respondents have applied for some type of faculty position; 29 have
applied for TTE positions. In line with the growing production of PhDs in
lgbtq history, more than six times as many respondents with finished PhDs
(25) first began applying for faculty positions in the 1990s as had first
begun applying for faculty positions in the 1980s (4). More than five
times as many respondents with finished PhDs (22) first began applying for
TTE positions in the 1990s as had first begun applying for TTE positions
in the 1980s (4).
Table 10: Year First Applied for Faculty
Positions for Respondents with Completed PhDs
|
All Types of Positions |
Tenure-Track/Equivalent Positions |
| 1980-1984 |
1 (1M/0F) |
1 (1M/0F) |
| 1985-1989 |
3 (2M/1F) |
3 (2M/1F) |
| 1990-1994 |
10 (5M/5F) |
9 (4M/5F) |
| 1995-1999 |
15 (10M/5F) |
13 (8M/5F) |
| 2000-2004 |
2 (1M/1F) |
3 (2M/1F) |
| Did Not Apply |
1 (0M/1F) |
3 (2M/1F) |
Most
respondents with completed PhDs (84 percent) have been hired as faculty
(TTE, part-time, or temporary). There was a significant increase in the
hiring of respondents in the 1990s: 11 times as many respondents were
hired as faculty in the 1990s (22) as were hired as faculty in the 1980s
(2). (Three more were hired in 2000.)
Table 11: Year First Hired
as Faculty (Including Part-Time and Temporary) for Respondents with
Completed PhDs
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| 1980-1984 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| 1985-1989 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| 1990-1994 |
8
(4M/4F) |
3
(1M/2F) |
| 1995-1999 |
1
(1M/0F) |
10
(7M/3F) |
| 2000-2004 |
|
3
(2M/1F) |
| Not
Hired |
|
4
(2M/2F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
1
(0M/1F) |
On average, the 27
respondents hired as faculty were hired one year after first applying for
faculty positions and six months before completing their PhDs. The range
was from 0 to 6 years after first applying for faculty positions and from
eight years before finishing the PhD to four years after finishing the
PhD. The later cohort was hired more quickly than the earlier cohort,
though this may change as more of the later cohort is
hired.
Table 12: Number of Years Between First Applying and
First Hiring (Including Part-Time and Temporary) for Respondents with
Completed PhDs
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| 0 |
4
(2M/2F) |
6
(5M/1F) |
| 1 |
4
(2M/2F) |
7
(5M/2F) |
| 2 |
1
(1M/0F) |
3
(0M/3F) |
| 3 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| 6 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| Not
Hired |
|
4
(2M/2F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
1
(0M/1F) |
| Average
for Those Hired |
1.4 |
0.8 | Average For
Those Hired in Both Cohorts 1.0
Table 13: Number of Years
Between End of PhD and First Hiring (Including Part-Time and Temporary)
for Respondents with Completed PhDs
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| Less
Than 0 |
3
(1M/2F) (-1, -1, -2) |
7
(3M/4F) (-1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, -8) |
| 0 |
4
(2M/2F) |
6
(6M/0F) |
| 1 |
3
(3M/0F) |
2
(1M/1F) |
| 2 |
|
1
(0M/1F) |
| 4 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| Not
Hired |
|
4
(2M/2F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
1
(0M/1F) |
| Average
for Those Hired |
0.3 |
-1.0 | Average for
Those Hired in Both Cohorts -0.5
Respondents report finding
part-time and temporary employment in a wide range of fields and academic
units. Of the 72 part-time and temporary positions that have been or are
currently held by respondents, 20 (28 percent) were in lgbtq and/or
sexuality studies, 25 (35 percent) were in women’s and/or gender studies,
29 (40 percent) were in other fields of history; and 11 (15 percent) were
in other disciplines. Most of these appointments, 43 (60 percent), were in
history departments or centers, but 10 (14 percent) were in women’s/gender
studies units, 5 (7 percent) were in American studies/civilization units,
and 4 (6 percent) were in English, literature, or writing
units.
Table 14: Part-Time and Temporary Job Descriptions and
Departments (for All Respondents)
| U.S.
History and U.S. History of Sexuality (History) |
1 |
| U.S.
History of Sexuality (History) |
2 |
| Gender
and Sexuality Studies (Anthropology) |
2 |
| Gender
and Sexuality Studies (Native American Studies) |
1 |
| Gender
and Sexuality Studies (American Studies) |
1 |
| Gender
and Sexuality in U.S. History; U.S. Women’s History
(History) |
1 |
| Gender,
Sexuality, Immigration, Ethnicity (Metropolitan Studies) |
1 |
| History
of Sexuality and U.S. Women’s History (History) |
1 |
| LGBT
Studies (History) |
1 |
| LGBT
History (History) |
2 |
| Latina
Lesbians (Chicano Studies/LGBT Studies) |
1 |
| European
Sex and Sexuality (History) |
2 |
| History
of Sexuality (Continuing Education) |
1 |
| History
of Sexuality (History) |
2 |
| Gender,
Sexuality, and Oral History (History, Women’s Studies, Documentary
Studies) |
1 |
| Total: LGBTQ
and Sexuality Studies |
20 |
|
|
| Women’s
Studies (Women’s Studies) |
5 |
| U.S.
Women’s History (American Civilization) |
1 |
| U.S.
Women’s History (History) |
3 |
| U.S.
Women’s History (Women’s Studies) |
1 |
| Women of
Color (History) |
1 |
| U.S.
History and U.S. Women’s History (History) |
1 |
| Gender
Studies (Gender Studies) |
1 |
| U.S.
History and Women’s Studies (History/Women’s Studies) |
1 |
| Masculinity and
Feminism (Women’s Studies) |
1 |
| Total: Women’s
and Gender Studies |
15
(+10 Above) |
|
|
| U.S.
History (History) |
11 |
| History
of War (History) |
2 |
| Russian
and Soviet History (History) |
1 |
| Working
Class History (History) |
1 |
| Modern
Canadian Social History (Continuing Education) |
1 |
| World
History (History) |
1 |
| Dimensions of
Culture-Diversity (History) |
1 |
| Race and
Ethnicity in the U.S. (History) |
1 |
| History
of the U.S. in the 1950s (History) |
1 |
| History
of the U.S. in the 1960s (History) |
1 |
| African
American History (History) |
1 |
| U.S.
Cold War (History) |
1 |
| Western
Civilization (History) |
1 |
| Cultural
History (Social Sciences and Management) |
1 |
| History
and Ethics of Science and Technology (Science and
Technology) |
1 |
| Total: History
(Not Including LGBTQ, Sexuality, Women, Gender) |
26
(+3 Above) |
|
|
| American
Studies (American Studies) |
3 |
| African
American Studies (African American Studies) |
1 |
| Liberal
Arts (Liberal Arts) |
1 |
| Identities
(History Research Center) |
1 |
| English
(English) |
1 |
| The
Beats (Literature) |
1 |
| Child
Psychiatry (Neuropsychiatry) |
1 |
| Vietnam
War (Writing) |
1 |
| War and
Society (Writing) |
1 |
| Total:
Miscellaneous |
11 |
|
|
| TOTAL |
72 |
Of the 32
respondents with completed PhDs, 18 (56 percent) have been hired as TTE
faculty. If the four non-respondents are included, 18 of 36 (50%) have
been hired as TTE faculty. Of the 29 respondents who completed PhDs and
applied for TTE positions, 62 percent (18) have been hired as TTE faculty.
There was a significant increase in TTE hiring of respondents in the
1990s. Fifteen times as many respondents (15) were hired in TTE positions
in the 1990s as were hired in the 1980s (1). (Two more were hired in
2000.) Of the respondents who completed PhDs between 1980 and 1994 and
applied for TTE positions (11), 82% (9) have secured TTE positions. If the
four non-respondents are included, 9 of 15 (60%) have secured TTE
positions. Of the respondents who completed PhDs between 1995 and 2000 and
applied for TTE positions (18), 50% (9) have secured TTE
positions.
Table 15: Year First Hired as TTE Faculty for
Respondents with Completed PhDs
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| 1980-1984 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| 1985-1989 |
|
|
| 1990-1994 |
6
(2M/4F) |
1
(0M/1F) |
| 1995-1999 |
2
(2M/0F) |
6
(3M/3F) |
| 2000-2004 |
|
2
(2M/0F) |
| Not
Hired |
2
(2M/0F) |
9
(5M/4F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
3
(2M/1F) |
On
average, the 18 respondents with TTE positions were hired 2.8 years after
first applying for TTE positions. The range was from 0 to 15 years. The
average for the cohort of nine who completed PhDs from 1980 to 1994 was
3.8 years; the average for the cohort of nine who completed PhDs from 1995
to 2000 was 1.9 years. The later cohort was hired more quickly than the
earlier cohort, though this may change as more of the later cohort is
hired. Seven respondents secured TTE positions within one year of first
applying. Seven secured TTE positions 2-3 years after first applying. Four
secured TTE positions 4-15 years after first applying. Most respondents
who have been hired in TTE positions (78%) have been hired within three
years of first applying.
Table 16: Number of Years Between First
Applying and First Hiring as TTE Faculty
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| 0 |
2
(1M/1F) |
2
(2M/0F) |
| 1 |
|
3
(2M/1F) |
| 2 |
1
(0M/1F) |
1
(0M/1F) |
| 3 |
4
(2M/2F) |
1
(1M/0F) |
| 4 |
|
1
(0M/1F) |
| 5 |
1
(1M/0F) |
1
(0M/1F) |
| 15 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| Not
Hired |
2
(2M/0F) |
9
(5M/4F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
(2M/1F) |
| Average
For Those Hired |
3.8 |
1.9 | Average for
Those Hired in Both Cohorts 2.8
The average number of years between
PhD completion and first hiring for these 18 respondents was 1.5. The
range was from two years before PhD completion to 10 years after PhD
completion. The average for the earlier cohort was 2.4 years; the average
for the later cohort was 0.6 years. The later cohort was hired more
quickly than the earlier cohort, though this, too, may change as more of
the later cohort is hired. Six of 18 respondents (33%) who have been hired
in TTE positions have been hired before or in the year in which they
completed their PhDs. Six of 32 respondents (19%) who have completed PhDs
have been hired in TTE positions before or in the year in which they
completed their PhDs. Fifteen of 18 respondents (83%) who have been hired
in TTE positions have been hired within two years of completing their
PhDs. Seventeen of 18 respondents (94%) who have been hired in TTE
positions have been hired within four years of completing their
PhDs.
Table 17: Number of Years Between End of PhD and First
Hiring as TTE Faculty for Respondents with Completed
PhDs
|
Completed PhDs
1980-1994 |
Completed PhDs
1995-2000 |
| Less
Than 0 |
|
1
(0M/1F) (-2) |
| 0 |
2
(1M/1F) |
3
(3M/0F) |
| 1 |
2
(1M/1F) |
4
(1M/3F) |
| 2 |
3
(1M/2F) |
|
| 3 |
|
1
(1M/0F) |
| 4 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| 10 |
1
(1M/0F) |
|
| Not
Hired |
2
(2M/0F) |
8
(5M/3F) |
| Did Not
Apply |
|
3
(2M/1F) |
| Average
for Those Hired |
2.4 |
0.6 | Average for
Those Hired in Both Cohorts 1.5
On average, the 18 respondents with
TTE positions were first hired in these types of positions after six AHA
convention interviews and six campus interviews. The range for AHA
convention interviews was 0 to 16; the range for campus interviews was 1
to 41. About one-quarter (22%) of respondents who obtained TTE
appointments did so without any AHA convention interviews. Half (50%) did
so after 0-3 AHA convention interviews. Half (50%) did so after 5-16 AHA
convention interviews. Five of 18 respondents (28%) who obtained TTE
appointments did so on their first campus interview. Thirteen of 18 (72%)
did so on their first, second, third, or fourth campus interviews. Five of
18 respondents (28%) did so after 5-41 campus interviews.
Table
18: Number of AHA Convention Interviews Before Obtaining TTE
Appointments
| Interviews |
Respondents |
| 0 |
4 |
| 1 |
2 |
| 2 |
1 |
| 3 |
2 |
| 5 |
1 |
| 8 |
1 |
| 9 |
1 |
| 10 |
1 |
| 11 |
2 |
| 12 |
1 |
| 16 |
2 | Average:
6.0
Table 19: Number of Campus Interviews Before Obtaining TTE
Appointments
| Interviews |
Respondents |
| 1 |
5 |
| 2 |
2 |
| 3 |
4 |
| 4 |
2 |
| 5 |
1 |
| 6 |
1 |
| 8 |
1 |
| 12 |
1 |
| 41 |
1 | Average:
5.6
Twenty schools (16 in the United States, two in Canada, and two
in the U.K.) have hired respondents in TTE positions. No school has hired
more than one respondent. Five of the schools are in the U.S. Northeast
(all in New York and Pennsylvania); four are outside of the U.S.; four are
in the U.S. Midwest (all in Illinois and Missouri); four are in the U.S.
Southeast; three are in the U.S. West. Nine are in or near the largest
cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington,
D.C.) in the United States and Canada.
Table 20: Colleges and
Universities That Have Hired Respondents in TTE
Positions
| Bryn
Mawr College (US) |
Cal
State, Long Beach (US) |
| Clemson
U. (US) |
College
of William and Mary (US) |
| Columbia
U. (US |
George
Washington U. (US) |
| New York
U. (US) |
Portsmouth U.
(UK) |
| Southern
Illinois U. (US) |
SUNY
Buffalo (US) |
| U. of
Chicago (US) |
U. of
Colorado, Boulder (US) |
| U. of
Illinois, Chicago (US) |
U. of
Manitoba (Canada) |
| U. of
North Carolina, Greensboro (US) |
U.
Pennsylvania (US) |
| U. of
Utah (US) |
U. of
York (UK) |
| Washington U.
(US) |
York U.
(Canada) |
Of the 18
respondents who have been hired in TTE positions, 11 (61 percent) were
first hired to teach U.S. history/American studies, two (11 percent) to
teach lgbtq studies, two (11 percent) to teach Asian history, one (6
percent) to teach History/European Studies, one (6 percent) to teach Latin
American history, and one (6 percent) to teach public history. Of the 11
first hired to teach U.S. history/American studies, five were hired to
teach post-1945, 20th century, or 19th/20th century U.S. history; three to
teach U.S. women’s history; one to teach U.S. political history; one to
teach U.S. women’s and U.S. political history; and one to teach American
Studies.
Table 21: First Tenure-Track/Equivalent Job
Descriptions
| U.S.
History, Post-1945 |
1 |
| U.S.
History, 20th Century |
3 |
| U.S.
History, 19th and 20th Century |
1 |
| U.S.
Women’s History |
2 |
| U.S.
Women’s History and Women’s Studies |
1 |
| U.S.
Women’s History and 20th Century Political History |
1 |
| U.S.
Political History |
1 |
| American
Studies |
1 |
| History/European
Studies |
1 |
| Latin
American History |
1 |
| Japanese
History |
1 |
| Chinese
History |
1 |
| Public
History |
1 |
| LGBT
Studies |
1 |
| Lesbian
Studies |
1 |
Those who
completed PhDs in history were significantly more likely to find TTE
positions (62 percent held TTE positions, as compared to 33 percent with
PhDs in American studies or liberal arts). However, there is a net outflow
of lgbtq historians from history departments to other types of academic
units and from the United States to other countries. While 86 percent of
respondents earned or are earning their PhDs in history departments, 63
percent of respondents, 47 percent of respondents with completed PhDs, and
72 percent of respondents with TTE appointments currently have primary or
joint affiliations with history departments. Less than one-half of
respondents (44 percent) with TTE jobs have exclusive appointments in U.S.
history departments. Just under one-quarter of respondents (22 percent)
with TTE appointments work in Canada or the U.K. (after having earned PhDs
in the U.S.), one-sixth (18 percent) work in gender/women’s studies units
or have joint appointments in gender/women’s studies units, one-ninth (11
percent) have primary appointments in American Studies units. Of the 8
scholars who have exclusive appointments in U.S. history departments, two
did dissertations described as 100 percent lgbtq in contents; the other
six describe their dissertations as 10-30 percent lgbtq in contents. Thus,
with only two exceptions, respondents who have completed history
dissertations that are more than one-third lgbtq in contents are not
currently employed in TTE positions in which U.S. history departments
acted as the primary hiring units.
Table 22: Current Positions
by Primary Discipline/Department
|
All |
Completed
PhDs |
Tenure-Track/Equivalent |
| History |
25
(57%) |
13
(41%) |
*11
(61%) |
| History
and Gender/Women’s Studies |
2
(5%) |
2
(6%) |
2
(11%) |
| American
Studies |
2 (5%)
|
2
(6%) |
2
(11%) |
| Women’s
Studies |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
1
(6%) |
| East
Asian Languages and Cultures |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
1
(6%) |
| Chicano
Studies/LGBT Studies |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
|
| Liberal
Arts |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
|
| Psychiatry |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
|
| Continuing
Education |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
*1
(6%) |
| Academic
Administration |
1
(2%) |
1
(3%) |
|
| Public
History/Library |
4
(9%) |
4
(13%) |
|
| Non-Academic/Non-Public |
4
(9%) |
4
(13%) |
|
*Two of
the 11 history positions are held in Canada; one of the 11 history
positions is held in the U.K.; the Continuing Education position is held
in the U.K.
Marc Stein is chair of the Committee on Lesbian and
Gay History and assistant professor of history at York University,
Toronto. A shorter version of this article was published in Perspectives,
May 2001, 29-31, and in the Committee on Lesbian and Gay Newsletter,
Spring 2001. See
http://www.theaha.org/perspectives/issues/2001/0105/0105aff1.cfm.
Notes
|
