Paper: Once your outline has been graded, write a paper of 1,800-2,500 words that tells the
story you’ve learned about and analyzes it in the context you’ve studied. This means including both a historical narrative (what happened) and a historical analysis (why it, or
some element of it, happened in the way it did, or what it explains about later things that
happened or are happening). Note that your paper must have a thesis statement, and that your thesis must be developed and supported by logical reasoning and documented evidence; if
you need help with how to do this, please meet with me before you start writing or make an
appointment at the ARC (see below). Your paper must include the word count and proper
citation of your sources in a recognized format like Chicago, MLA, or APA style.
For this assignment, you get to be a historian! Using primary source material from 15 or
more years ago, research a significant person, group, event, or movement in the history of
queer and/or trans religiosities. You might find primary source material in a number of ways,
including examining online archives of newspapers (some have free access; others are
accessible through the UCR databases) and doing an oral history interview of your own with
someone who’s part of queer religious history. If you conduct an oral history, please consider
including it in the national StoryCorps project by using their free app (see
https://storycorps.org)! But if finding your own primary sources doesn’t appeal to you, check
out this great one-stop shop of online oral histories, biographical profiles, and archival
exhibits: the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network at https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org (you
can also donate an oral history that you record to this organization). There’s also an amazing
archival collection of LGBTQ material at the ONE Archives, housed at USC:
http://one.usc.edu, and the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society has an extensive
collection of online resources here: https://www.glbthistory.org/online-resources.
Once you’ve found your primary materials, consider what story you want to tell about them.
Then find secondary sources, including but not limited to our course materials, that can help
you understand that story within a broader synchronic (happening at the same time) or
diachronic (happening across a period of time) context.
