THE HISTORY OF SEXUALITY: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF THE FIELD

Abstract

In this concise volume, Jeffrey Weeks traces the development of the history of sexuality from its earliest days, more than a century ago, to the present. He identifies dominant themes and subject matter as well as analyzing and commenting upon some of the key theoretical frameworks that have driven this scholarly endeavor. He devotes special attention to LGBT history, to histories of gender, power, and sexuality, and to globalization and the transnational turn in historical writing. He gives attention to the tensions that have often existed between a community-based activist history produced from within the LGBT community and the history produced within the academy. Finally, he considers the degree to which sexual history has been mainstreamed and the dangers and the value of that process.