Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Clarkson, Nicholas

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

New College has been ranked as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly colleges in the United States throughout the last several decades, though nearly all identifiable elements of support for queer students at New College were initiated and maintained by students themselves. Rather than classifying New College as queer-friendly overall, I propose that it is not the college as an institution that has been supportive of queer students, but instead that queer students formed and continue to shape a queer-friendly student culture. This thesis intends to provide a description and analysis of the complexities of New College’s queer student culture across the college's history. Previous literature on the heteronormativity of institutions, queer culture, and the experiences of queer students in higher education indicate the inherent un-queerness of institutions and the importance of queer community in positive outcomes for queer people. Using an analysis of archival materials and oral history interviews with alumni, I present a set of themes that define the ways in which New College students have worked to shape a queer student culture on campus: joy, care, resistance, and reform. Between periods in New College’s history, these themes have varied in prominence due to the dynamic needs of queer students unaddressed by the institution and remained parallel to the evolution of national queer politics and culture. I conclude the thesis with a reflection on how the history of the queer student culture at New College is crucial to understanding the contemporary moment, as well as what the campus community can draw from this history to navigate New College’s current climate.

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