Queering the Academy: New directions in LGBT research in higher education
Guest Editor: Associate Professor Louisa Allen, University of Auckland
The relationship between higher education (HE) and queer theory presents an interesting paradox. While HE constitutes the site for significant developments in queer theory, it is not an especially queer system of institutions, nor does scholarship in HE often interrogate itself queerly! Buoyed by the politics of the LGBT movement since the late 1980s, focus has been on the visibility of LGBT people, campus climate studies of this population and student identities and experience (Renn, 2010). In terms of the breadth and depth of such research, HE has often been viewed as lagging behind sexualities scholarship in primary and secondary educational sectors.
The 2015 special issue of HERD recognizes that mainstream LGBT research of the kind described above continues to offer important insights for HE practice, particularly in conservative institutions where sexual diversity politics remain marginalized. At the same time, this issue seeks papers attempting innovative theoretical and methodological approaches, which might cast new light on existing questions and problems around sexual and gender diversity in HE. Submissions could consider (but are in no way limited to) the question of how queer theory might contribute conceptually and methodologically to addressing the ‘usual’ LGBT challenges in HE, as well as issues which have not previously been considered ‘queerly’.
While HE is the site for interrogation, in order to expand thinking around sexual and gender diversity in HE, we invite international submissions that draw this context into articulation with other disciplinary fields. Via these intersections, it is hoped this special issue will offer new ways of thinking that have implications for HE practice.
Submission Procedures
Manuscript submission due: 31 Aug 2014
Anticipated publication: late April 2015
Submissions are encouraged from both graduate students and established researchers in the field. Submitted papers should not have been previously published, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. A guide for authors along with other relevant information can be found on the journal’s homepage.
Submissions should be made online at HERD’s ScholarOne site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cher
For any further information or queries regarding this Special Issue, please contact the editor, Dr Louisa Allen.
