Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University [Paperback]

John D'Emilio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0415905109 | ISBN-13: 978-0415905107 | Edition: 1

Combining historical and political analysis with autobiography and memoir, Making Trouble brings together the essays of John D'Emilio, a pioneering gay historian and long-time movement activist. Written over a period of almost twenty years, these essays provide a unique exploration of the history of gay life since World War II, describe the courage and accomplishments of gay and lesbian activists, and survey the vast changes that their movement for equality has had on American society, politics, and the university.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

D'Emilio authored one of the pioneering studies of the birth of the gay movement, Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. In this collection, he expands on that work, with forays into gay historiography, the rise of gay and lesbian studies in the university and further explorations of the history of gay and lesbian activism in the U.S. One of the author's greatest strengths is his ability to relate the personal to the political, using an illuminating detail from his own life where applicable to make a larger historical point. Thus, his own early sexual experiences in Times Square come into play in an incisive essay on Women Against Pornography, and the introduction recalls movingly his trajectory from working-class white ethnic kid to gay activist and scholar. Because it is a collection of essays, papers and speeches drawn from a fairly narrow period of time, the book is occasionally repetitive. However, D'Emilio is an engaging writer and a superb historian. The final essay, one of the longest in the book, is a quick history of the movement with particular attention to post-Stonewall (1969) activism; one fervently hopes that it is a hint of what D'Emilio's next book project will be.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gay historian, author, and activist D'Emilio has collected here 20 of his insightful personal and historical essays on the rise of gay scholarship in the United States. Topics range from the birth of a gay identity in post-World War II America to the crucial role that feminism played in turning the heretofore personal issues of gender and sex into social and political ones. He also scores a few more points in the continuing debate over homosexual behavior vs. gay identity. Positioning himself firmly on the radical side, D'Emilio advocates nothing less than a total reevaluation of our society's sexual paradigm. Although a single voice is heard in these essays, D'Emilio's call for gays and lesbians to move beyond minority status to one of freedom and choice, "to embark on new journeys of sexual definition," may well be the rallying cry for renewed activism in the struggle for social justice. Highly recommended for academic libraries or larger public collections with informed lay readers.
- Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 14, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415905109
• ISBN-13: 978-0415905107
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really accessible book by a noted gay scholar, June 1, 2002

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University (Paperback)

John D'Emilio is a celebrated gay academic who wrote about gay issues when scholars were too afraid to risk their chances for tenure to do so. He is just as brave as George Chauncey and Esther Newton, gay academics who fought for the right to do gay scholarship. This book is a smorgasbord of his essays. It includes his groundbreaking piece "Capitalism and Gay Identity." It also has an awesome chapter where D'Emilio critiques anti-porn feminist activism. This book would be easy for non-academic readers to peruse as well. I would recommend this and all of D'Emilio's books.