Synopses & Reviews
The Columbia Reader features:
concise introductions to each section, as well as a substantial general introduction
viewpoints ranging from radical to conservative of lesbian and gay scholars and community writers, as well as nongay intellectuals and public figures
essays, articles, and primary documents from both mainstream and lesbian/gay sources
detailed exploration of mainstream media representations of gays and lesbians in films, television, and print as well as the rise of lesbian/gay media outlets
broad coverage of history and identity, social, cultural, legal, medical, and religious regulation, AIDS, and lesbian and gay political agendas and strategies
current topics, such as the recent development of a cybercommunity, as well as questions of censorship and pornography, same-sex marriage, the ethics of "outing," gay and lesbian activism, and the conservative backlash
Review
"A lively, irreverent one-stop-shopping reader on lesbian and gay male sensibility. Its impact is cumulative and subtly subversive: these are protean journalists, authors and activists giving voice to the depth and variety of gay experiencea voice that will no longer tolerate being squelched." Leroy Aarons, founder, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
Review
"Casts a much wider net than previous anthologies. It is unique in its combination of historical documents and current work. A major contribution to lesbian and gay studies." Margaret Cruikshank, , author of The Gay and Lesbian Liberation Movement
Review
"A source book destined to be widely cited by activists and academics alike... a lively and unique anthology of articles analyzing, illustrating, and challenging the sexual prejudice that pervades American society. Students of mass media and those simply trying to understand Ellen's coming out episode in historical context will find it tremendously useful." Gregory Herek, editor of Stigma and Sexual Orientation and Out In Force: Sexual Orientation and the Military editor of Stigma and Sexual Orientation and Out In Force: Sexual Orientation and the Military
Review
"The most up-to-date, media-savvy conception of how to organize and teach an introductory course on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender studies to undergraduates. I can't wait to use it." Esther Newton, author of Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Review
"A unique and lively anthology." Carol LeMasters, The Lesbian Review of Books
Synopsis
Here at last is a comprehensive and highly approachable introduction to lesbian and gay studies for students and general readers. More than one hundred articles, essays, and primary documents cover the formation of gay identity, religious, scientific, medical, and legal perspectives, the mainstream media, lesbian and gay media, and community prospects and tactics. From Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's essay, -How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay, - to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's -Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, - to a 1947 Newsweek article, -Homosexuals in Uniform, - The Columbia Reader explores experiences and representations of lesbian and gay people in an engaging and accessible format.
The Columbia Reader features:
- concise introductions to each section, as well as a substantial general introduction
- viewpoints--ranging from radical to conservative--of lesbian and gay scholars and community writers, as well as nongay intellectuals and public figures
- essays, articles, and primary documents from both mainstream and lesbian/gay sources
- detailed exploration of mainstream media representations of gays and lesbians in films, television, and print as well as the rise of lesbian/gay media outlets
- broad coverage of history and identity, social, cultural, legal, medical, and religious regulation, AIDS, and lesbian and gay political agendas and strategies
- current topics, such as the recent development of a cybercommunity, as well as questions of censorship and pornography, same-sex marriage, the ethics of -outing, - gay and lesbian activism, and the conservative backlash
Grounded in key social and political topics rather than wholly theoretical approaches, The Columbia Reader on Lesbians and Gay Men in Media, Society, and Politics will be a valuable resource for years to come.
About the Author
Larry Gross is Sol Worth Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of
Contested Closets: The Politics and Ethics of Outing and editor of
Image Ethics: The Moral Rights of Subjects in Photographs, Film and Television, and
On the Margins of Art Worlds.
James D. Woods was assistant professor of communications at the College of Staten Island, CUNY, and author of The Corporate Closet: The Professional Lives of Gay Men in America