Case studies and the history of sexuality

By the mid-20th century cultural and social historians were deep into the case study approach to history.  Rather than trying to research the whole history of huge topics and write comprehensive accounts, they focused their attention on more limited manifestations in order to go deeper.  Rather than everything about women and the Second Great Awakening, in her book Cradle of the Middle Class, Mary Ryan wrote about The Family in Oneida County, New York, 1790-1865.  This approach is especially important in a new field of study; it functions as sort of sample and gives direction to later work.  Of course, questions must be asked about the typicality of a study focused on one locality.  Is the case representative of other places in the same time period?  To what degree can it be generalized?  

These questions have surfaced in our discussions of Gay New York.  We know that this was a ground breaking study.  We know that New York is a major metropolis.  We wonder if similar developments were taking place in Chicago and Los Angeles.  We note that Chauncey tells us that he set out to study the male gay world and that while he suspects that some similar dynamics were at work among lesbians, he also was unwilling to simply generalize in a way that obscured significant differences.


Now Chauncey has returned to teach at Yale and he directs a project on the history of sexuality which is expanding the base of our knowledge.  See what is currently in process.

History of Sexuality project at Yale: Dissertations in Process