Critical Politics in a Neoliberal Institution: Gay and Lesbian Organizing at Swarthmore College, 1988-1993
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2013
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of History
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en
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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Abstract
This paper studies gay and lesbian organizing at Swarthmore as part of national trends
of neoliberalism, multiculturalism, and queer politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Students
in this period achieved numerous concrete gains and institutional resources, particularly the
establishment of an annual gay and lesbian studies conference and the Intercultural Center. In the
process, they entered into new coalitions with each other, changing the way that students
conceptualized identity and engaged with the school. Change was limited due to Swarthmore’s
corporate priorities and the challenges of achieving cultural transformation, but the process of
organizing marked a valuable way of relating to the school and envisioning justice.