Library Award for Undergraduate Research
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Item Lesbian Newsletters, Pulps, and Manuals: A Primary Source Analysis(2024) Schmitz, Holland; Woods, ColleenLesbian Newsletters, Pulps, and Manuals: A Primary Source Analysis is a research paper about lesbian publications in the mid 1900s. The paper examines two lesbian newsletters: The Ladder and Vice Versa, which were published in the 1940s and 50s; and two lesbian pulp novels: We Walk Alone by Ann Aldrich and The Price of Salt by Claire Morgan, which were both originally published in the 1950s. By examining all of these texts, the paper declares that lesbian authors created an image of humor, bravery, and care for the local community through the work they published. The newsletters were widely distributed thanks to discreet mailing options, and the lesbian pulp novels were sold in nearly every drug store and shop where someone could walk up to the counter and bravely purchase a novel with a naked woman on the front. Due to the popularity of these texts, the image of themselves that the lesbian authors wished to present did succeed in influencing many people that lesbians are worthy of love and protection, and are strong activists and allies for issues that affect queer identities. This research paper set out to change the way lesbian history was viewed by UMD peers, for the better.Item Alienation and Alliances: Transgender Coalition-Building from the 1970s through the 1990s(2023) Grafstein, Julia; Keane, KatarinaCoalition-building in the transgender movement has received scant attention from scholars in history or gender studies. In an effort to understand transactivists' motivations and how they worked with others, this thesis analyzes the partnerships formed within the transgender community and with potential allies of the lesbian, gay, and feminist communities. Using archival records, magazines and newspapers, published reports, and oral histories, this thesis argues that trans activism in the period between 1970 and the end of the 1990s was multifarious, fractious and inconsistent. It also demonstrates that trans activists worked to build coalitions with potential allies in the women's movement and the gay and lesbian rights movement whenever possible. Such coalitions held the promise of greater influence and of shared values. Because I have submitted three of my other chapters for publication at several journals, I am submitting the introduction and my second chapter for your consideration. This chapter focuses on transgender coalition-building within the transgender community and gives insight into the internal struggles of a nascent movement. The introduction will detail the focus of my thesis altogether and lay out key background information. The separated bibliography has all of the sources from my thesis, while the bibliography at the end of my research paper has the sources from only the chapters I am submitting.