How can we recreate and make meaning of the experiences of queer-identified University of Michigan students during the first half of the twentieth century? This panel addresses this question by exploring key moments and figures in U-M’s queer history during the years spanning 1900-1960. By unraveling the moments in which queer experiences became public and by tracing the networks and movements of key figures, such as U-M graduate Forman Brown (who published his 1933 gay coming-of-age novel Better Angel under the pseudonym Richard Meeker), this panel works towards determining the reach and scope of U-M’s early twentieth-century queer histories. Featuring Cassius Adair, Alex Chow, and David Hutchinson.

This LSA Bicentennial Theme Semester event is presented with support from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the University of Michigan Bicentennial Office. Additional support provided by the Department of History and the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies.