Current Institutional Affiliation
Visiting Assistant Professor, History, Hampden-Sydney College

Award Information

International Dissertation Research Fellowship 2009
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
History, University of Iowa
Corporal Rhetorics: Sexology, Citizenship and the State in ''German-Speaking'' Central Europe, 1880-1935

My dissertation concerns three interrelated histories. First, it examines the history of sexology and forensic medicine in "German-speaking" Central Europe, 1880-1935. Second, it explores the everyday lives of "homosexual" men and women in these lands during this era. Third, it provides a history of the judiciary and the courtroom, where laws prohibiting same-sex desires and attempts at resistance (to these laws) met head to head. My dissertation uses a previously untapped source, clemency appeals from person convicted of "unnatural acts," in order to explore the nexus of these three histories. Ultimately, my aim is to understand the meanings and uses of (sexual) science in both legal and everyday contexts.

Menu