Elliot Santavicca A History of Gender Nonconformity Senior Project Proposal DESCRIPTION This Senior Project is a research based project exploring gender non-conformity through individual case studies around the late 19th and early 20th century. The research is focused on individuals who lived part or all of their lives outside of the gendered expectations of society. Most of these individuals "masqueraded" as a gender other than what they were assigned at birth for part of their lives, usually until their birth sex was "discovered." This senior project incorporates and has been directly formulated out of the last year of independent work I have done at COA, which includes a residency and two independent studies over three terms. The residency I did in Winter 2019 studying queer archives was the beginning of my academic work in this area, in which I realized that trans history specifically is a much more complicated and underresearched area than I had previously known. The following term, I did an independent study in which I first started researching gender non-conforming individuals from the 19th century and early 20th century. I realized that doing the research for this independent study was a much larger undertaking than I had initially thought, and I did not feel comfortable leaving the research after spending only one term on it. The independent study I did in Fall 2019 was meant to create more time for this work than just the three credits that are required for a senior project. I used the second independent study as a way to prepare myself for my Senior Project and begin to formulate the basis for the work I will be doing for my project. My Senior Project is largely research based, utilizing digital newspaper databases, genealogical databases, digitized census, birth, marriage, and death records, as well as considering secondary work done by other academics concerning the individuals that I am studying. This project also incorporates queer and gender theory, as the politics of talking about these individuals is steeped in theoretical conceptions of gender and identity, as well as historical contexts for identity. Discussing gender and sexuality during a time period in which there were no words to describe identity respectfully is a complicated undertaking, and my experience with theoretical considerations of gender and sexuality will be extremely important for writing about these individuals. Aspects of queer archiving are also incorporated, as this research takes place within digital archives. How these stories can be talked about within archives is a complex conversation, and the final written piece for my project will grapple with having that conversation. There will be a large writing component to the project as I plan to turn this research into a book after graduation, and I will begin writing that as the final product of the project. I do not expect to be able to complete the book by the end of my Senior Project, but I hope to be able to do as much research and conceptual work as I can to begin the process of writing the book. The written final will be similar to a senior thesis in length and scope, and I will continue to expand it beyond finishing the Senior Project. ACADEMICALLY ENGAGED HOURS Digital Research: 270 hours Meetings: 10 hours Writing of Book: 180 hours Secondary Reading: 30 hours Total: 490 hours GOALS Be able to articulate thoughts on gender and sexuality in a historical context Synthesize thoughts across disciplines concerning gender, archiving, and research Improve digital research abilities Gain more experience working in digital archives and databases Learn more about how other scholars are doing similar research and writing NEW LEARNING I will need to learn how to better navigate digital archives and databases in order to find as much information as is available to find. I will need to learn how to be able to articulately synthesize complex theoretical conversations with tangible research, which will require that I am able to work across disciplines to both conceptually consider gender identity while also portraying narrativized representations of individual peoples' lived experiences. I will need to learn how to more efficiently search through microfilm reels. I will learn these things by proceeding with this project and practicing techniques and skills in order to improve them. I will utilize the knowledge that my project advisor has by learning from him in meetings how to hone my skills for this project. FINAL PRODUCT The final product for this project will be a written piece that will be the beginning or part of a book which will be completed after I graduate. I will synthesize my research with my theoretical considerations of gender and sexuality. The written piece will include a section which discusses the complexities of talking about gender in this particular time period. The bulk of the written piece will be narratives describing the lives of the individuals I have researched and will present as complete of a story of their lives as is possible. The written piece will be a sensitive consideration of real peoples' lives throughout history which actively does not attach labels or judgements to these people. ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR(S) My director will be Jamie McKown. He has been my advisor for the residency and independent studies that have led up to my senior project, so he is extremely familiar with the project already. Jamie has extensive experience as an academic researcher and is able to help me learn research techniques and how to best utilize digital databases. Jamie is also familiar with my concerns about how to talk about gender in this historical context and has had many conversations with me on the subject, his input will help me best articulate my thoughts in my final written piece. Jamie has assisted me with my research throughout my two independent studies I have already done and will likely continue to help me locate difficult documents and think of different areas to delve into with these histories. We will meet at least once a week throughout the term to check in with my research progress, writing, and thoughts on the project. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION The criteria for evaluation will be an assessment of the final written piece. The written piece will include conversations about the research as well as the theoretical considerations, so it will be a good way to assess the full breadth of the senior project. The written piece will be evaluated based on whether or not the previously outlined goals and new learning have been demonstrated in the piece. Evaluation will also include an assessment of the amount of hours put into the project and whether the final piece accurately depicts the scope of the project. TIMETABLE Winter Term (1 credit) Research and beginning stages of writing Weekly or biweekly check-ins to report research progress and share drafts of written work The bulk of the time will be spent on research, but writing will be done to prevent losing any information or thoughts over time Spring Term (2 credits) The first 5 weeks will be focused on research Writing will happen across the whole term, but during the second half of the term writing will be the main focus. I will have a full draft of the final written piece by week 5, and the remainder of the term will be spent editing and completing the written piece. BIBLIOGRAPHY OR LIST OF RESOURCES Databases/Research: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ https://www.newspapers.com/ https://www.ancestry.com/search/ https://www.genealogybank.com/ Secondary Work: Skidmore, Emily. True Sex: the Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. New York University Press, 2019. Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. Seal Press, 2008. Stenning, H. J., and Niels Hoyer. Man into Woman: an Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. The Beacon Library, 1937. Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. Alyson Books, 2006. Boag, Peter. Re-Dressing America's Frontier Past. University of California Press, 2012. Bronski, Michael. A Queer History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2011. Theory Texts: Snorton, C. Riley. Black on Both Sides: a Racial History of Trans Identity. University of Minnesota Press, 2017. Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble. Routledge, 2006. Halberstam, Judith. Female Masculinity. Duke University Press, 2018. Halberstam, Judith. In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Bodies. New York University Press, 2005. Muñoz, José Esteban. Disidentifications. 1994. Freeman, Elizabeth. Time Binds Queer Temporalities, Queer Histories. Duke University Press, 2010.