About
About Us
The William & Mary LGBTIQ Research Project: Documenting the LGBTIQ Past in Virginia aims to better understand, chronicle, and preserve the history of LGBTIQ people in Virginia. Beginning with research at the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, Virginia Commonwealth University, the College of William & Mary, and other archives, student researchers engage communities, preserve knowledge, and discover histories related to LGBTIQ experiences in our state. This research project is part of a larger national effort to document the histories of LGBTIQ people and the policies and laws that have affected their lives. Student research, under faculty guidance, focuses on state laws and policies that affected and may still affect the lives of LGBTIQ people and communities in the Commonwealth. This project is funded in part by the LGBTIQ Research Fund in History that supports projects at the College of William and Mary seeking to document the LGBTIQ past.
Through oral histories and research in archival repositories throughout Virginia our student volunteers:
- Engage Virginia's LGBTIQ communities.
- Preserve and seek out knowledge of Virginia's multiple LGBTIQ histories.
- Excavate histories relating to the intersectional and diverse LGBTIQ experiences across the Commonwealth.
- Digitize materials and making them publicly accessible online.
Want to Learn More?
Want to Learn More?
Check us out on Facebook or send us an e-mail directly. Please also stay tuned for a link to our Twitter, currently under construction!
How to Get Involved:
Participation in the LGBTIQ Research Project allows both undergraduate and graduate student researchers to gain valuable experience in archival research and oral history methodologies. Undergraduate student researchers may also, pursuant to the completion of a commensurate amount of academic work and writing, earn independent study credit through their participation. On the basis of their archival work, students produce papers, exhibits, present their research findings to the community, and contribute to a permanent and publicly accessible database. Students may also engage their research in other endeavors, including the drafting and presentation of research and conference papers and the production of honors theses that make innovative use of the Project's expanding archive.
For students to participate in recording oral histories during the Project's three semesterly trips to Diversity Richmond, attendance at one (and only one) of the training sessions on oral history methodologies is required. Two training sessions are held at the beginning of both the fall and spring semesters. Please check here for updates and information regarding the dates, times, and locations of the training sessions!
Special Thanks To:
Diversity Richmond
Bobbi Weinstock
Virginia Commonwealth University Archives
W&M Graduate Research Assistants:
2023: Kit Bauserman, PhD Student in American Studies
2017: Jennifer Ross, PhD Candidate in American Studies
2016: Jan Hubenthal, PhD Candidate in American Studies
W&M LGBTIQ Research Project Student Researchers:
2023-24: Charlie Adams, Sarah Kinlaw, Icarus Landaker Abby Mendez, Mel Pineda-Flores, Tate Philpott, Reid Rasmussen, Grace Rosenberg
2016-2017: Bre Adey, Kenya Allen, Maggie Armstrong, Kate Avery, Madalyn Bell, Emma Bresnan, Dan Delmonaco, Molly Duke, Lauren Dybel, Maya Farr-Henderson, Sylvia Greer, Anatolia Hodson, Melissa Hudson, Morgan Lawrence, Alyssa Luz-Ricca, Taylor Medley, Zach Meredith, Juliana Morrison, Brayon Nichols, Hayes Parker-Kepchar, Allison Ramirez, Sarah Rodriguez, Parker Ronquest, Juliana Santanna, Emma Tainter, Erin Wall, Zoey Wang, Kayleigh Webster, Rebecca Weinberg, and Julia Wicks
2016: Kenya Allen, Andrea Ayres, Alex de Gala, Dan Delmonaco, Sylvia Greer, Noella Handley, Ada Hao, Anatolia Hodson, Karla Kaplan, Jui Kothare, Aiesha Krause-Lee, Taylor Medley, Nic Querolo, Ming Siegel, and Sam Yu