Embracing Pride, Fighting Prejudice: 11 GC Scholars Who Address LGBTQ Issues Through Research, Action, and Literature

Graduate Center professors, students, and alumni are exploring issues related to Pride Month through their writing, art, and advocacy. If you’re looking for compelling reads, podcast interviews, and video appearances — or if you’d just like to celebrate some notable achievements — here are 11 ways to start:

1. Say congrats to Eric Ketcham, who defended his dissertation on same-sex couples, started a new job, and married his partner — all in the course of a few weeks
2. Check out the glowing reviews for the latest book by Distinguished Professor Wayne Koestenbaum, who recently won a American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature
3. Learn about What’s Your Issue, a national youth survey led by professors Michelle Fine and María Elena Torre and made with LGBTQ & GNC youth to “lift up experiences, priorities, and dreams”
4. See the appearance by Trans Voice Studio founder Kristofer Eckelhoff, a professional singer and musicology Ph.D. student, on CUNY’s Urban U
5. Read the op-ed by Out in Time author Perry N. Halkitis (Ph.D. ’95, Educational Psychology) on why the U.S. response to COVID-19 “seems frighteningly familiar”
6. And Poor Queer Studies by Professor Matt Brim, who deciphers how the field of queer studies functions outside the world of highly selective, liberal arts institutions
7. And about research by Ph.D. student Alison Parks (Political Science), who examines queer suicidality through the lens of political theory
8. Listen to The Thought Project’s interview with José Luis Jiménez, a New York City public school principal and a Ph.D. student in the urban education program
9. Watch Distinguished Professor André Aciman reveal the origins of his novels Call Me By Your Name and Find Me
10. And filmmaker Cheryl Dunye, recipient of the annual José Muñoz Award, speak with former Graduate Center Professor Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz at an event presented by CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies
11. And, finally, explore a young American’s modern love for David Bowie (sorry, we could not resist).