Jonathan Ned Katz

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This article is about the historian and he has provided the data. For the queer studies professor, see Jonathan D. Katz. For the actor, see Jonathan Katz. For the technology writer, see Jon Katz.

Jonathan Ned Katz (born 1938) is a historian of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual American history, who has focused on same-sex attraction and changes in the social organization of sexuality over time. His works focus on the idea, rooted in social constructionism, that the categories with which we describe and define human sexuality are historically and culturally specific, along with the social organization of sexual activity, desire, relationships, and sexual identities.

Contents

[edit] Books

  • Love Stories: Sex Between Men Before Homosexuality.University of Chicago Press, Dec. 2001. Co-winner John Boswell Prize, Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, 2003.
  • The Invention of Heterosexuality. Dutton, 1995. Foreword by Gore Vidal. Afterword by Lisa Duggan. Translated and published in Brazil, Italy, France, Spain. Reprint: University of Chicago Press, June 2007. Cited by U.S. Supreme Court in majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, June 2003. For comment on The Invention of Heterosexuality see the comment section below.
  • Gay/Lesbian Almanac: A New Documentary. Harper & Row, 1983; reprint NY: Carroll & Graf, 1994. Number 21 on list of 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Nonfiction Books, a project of the Publishing Triangle, the association of lesbians and gay men in publishing.
  • Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. T.Y. Crowell, 1976; reprints Avon, 1977; Harper & Row, 1985; New American Library 1992. Number 3 on list of 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Nonfiction Books, a project of the Publishing Triangle, the association of lesbians and gay men in publishing.
  • Coming Out! A Documentary Play About Gay Life and Lesbian Life Liberation. Arno Press-NY Times, 1975.
  • Resistance at Christiana: The Fugitive Slave Rebellion, Christiana, Pennsylvania, 1851. T.Y. Crowell, 1974.
  • Black Woman: A Fictionalized Biography of Lucy Terry Prince. [Co-author Bernard Katz] Pantheon, 1973.

[edit] Editing

  • "Homosexuality: Lesbians and Gay Men in Society, History, and Literature." Arno Press-New York Times, 1975.

[edit] Essays and Reviews

  • "Coming to Terms: Conceptualizing Men's Erotic and Affectional Relations with Men in the U.S., 1820-1892." Presented at Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies; in The Queer World, Martin B. Duberman, ed., NYU Press, 1997.
  • "Introduction: 'Homosexual' and 'Heterosexual' History." In The Queer World, Martin B. Duberman, ed., NYU Press, 1997.
  • "Sex Is in Our Heads, Not in Our Genes" (op ed piece against biological determinist theories of sexual orientation). New York Newsday, April 1995, p. A32-A33.
  • "Introduction" to reprint of Donn Teal, The Gay Militants. St. Martin's Press, 1995, xv-xx.
  • "The Age of Sodomitical Sin, 1607-1740," in Jonathan Goldberg, ed., Reclaiming Sodom. NY: Routledge, 1994 (reprinted from Gay/Lesbian Almanac).
  • "The Political Economy of Pleasure: Toward a Theory of the Historical Organization of Erotic Activity, with Special Reference to Heterosexuality." Paper delivered at Harvard University, 1990, 4th Annual Lesbian and Gay Studies Conference; the American Historical Association, NYC, 1990; SUNY-Buffalo, 1991; NY Institute for the Humanities, NYC, 1991; Penn State, 1992; University of NH, 1992; Carleton College, 1994.
  • "The Invention of Heterosexuality," Socialist Review, v. 20, n. 1 Jan.-Mar. 1990; reprinted Women, Culture and Society: A Reader, The Women's Studies Program, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Kendall/Hunt, 1992, and many reprints elsewhere.
  • "Were the '90s Gay?" American Heritage Magazine, commissioned, written 1990.
  • "Katz on History," 19 columns on lesbian and gay history, The Advocate, Sept. 13, 1988-Feb. 27, 1990.
  • Editor, Gay Men's Health Crisis Annual Report, 1986-87, 1988-89.
  • At request of the Director, New York Council for the Humanities, reviewed conference on "AIDS: Humanistic Perspectives," NYC, Feb. 26-27, 1988.
  • "The Time of Our Lives: Thoughts on Lesbian and Gay History," essay in catalog of first photographic exhibit on New York City Lesbian and Gay History, produced by the Office of the Mayor, June 1988.
  • "True Lust" (review, Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality), Village Voice, Oct. 18, 1983.
  • "Melville's Secret Sex Text" (on the novel Redburn), Village Voice Literary Supplement, Ap. 1982.
  • "Womanhood in America" (review) Body Politic, 1977-78.
  • "Coming Out Fighting" (review), The Nation, July 2, 1973.
  • "Life Visits A Back-Yard Movie Set: Jonathan Katz, 13, Films 'Tom Sawyer," photos by Esther Bubley, "Life," June 11, 1951, pp. 140-143.
  • "Bringing Up Parents," "Parents' Magazine," Parents Magagzine, 1950s, citation needed.
  • Contribution to forum: "What Shall We Do About Television?", "Parents' Magazine," v. 25 Dec. 1950, p. 102.

[edit] Talks, Media, Public History

  • Panel Discussion: "Lessons from History: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Jonathan Ned Katz' Gay American History. " Panelists: Libby Bouvier, The History Project; Gary Buseck, GLAD; Jonathan Ned Katz; Luis Aponte-Pares, UMass, and Judith Smith, UMass. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University, Nov. 2006
  • Lecture: "Making Sexual History: 30 Years of Work and Questions," Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, October 2006.
  • Lecture: "Gay, Old, Single -- and Kicking!," LGB&T Community Center, NYC, October 10, 2006.
  • Lecture: "Making Our History: 30 Years of Work and Questions," Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center Inaugural Conference, September 30, 2006, Holiday Inn, Washington Avenue, Kingston, NY.
  • Initiator, major website on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, homosexual, and heteorsexual history, supported by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Graduate Center, City University of New York, 2006 (fundraising in progress).
  • Panelist on aging, sexuality, and intimacy, New York Universiity Center for the Study of Gender & Sexuality, April 2006.
  • Faciliated two workshops on gay aging, singleness, sexuality, intimacy, SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Elders), NYC, May and September, 2005.
  • Lecture: "On Being Gay, Old, and Single," SAGE Annual Conference, 2004.
  • Talk, "Making Sexual History: A Quarter Century of Work and Questions," Fourth Annual Stonewall Lecture, Dartmouth College, 2004.
  • Initiator, "OutHistory.org," web site on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and heterosexual history (2003-under construction on line).
  • Co-curator, with Allan Bérubé, of the U.S. section of an exhibit on the international history of the gay movement, at the Berlin Academy of the Arts, produced by the Gay Museum of Berlin and the Academy, May 14-August 3, 1997.
  • Invited participant, conference sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, 1992, to plan 25th anniversary exhibits commemorating the Stonewall Resistance and birth of the modern gay rights movement; participating institutions: The New York Historical Society, The 42nd Street Library, The Brooklyn Historical Society, and The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, Graduate Center, City University of N.Y.
  • Script, documentary theater piece about Walt Whitman, "Comrades and Lovers." Produced by Poets' Theater, Cambridge, Mass., 1992; by Bailiwick Theater, Chicago, 1992; by SAME, Atlanta, 1991. Public readings presented by English Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1991; by 3-Dollar Bill Theater, NYC, 1990, with Al Carmines as Whitman; by the Fund for Human Dignity, NYC, 1989.
  • Initiated June proclamation by New York City Mayor of "Lesbian and Gay Pride and History Month," 1987-89. Edited calendar History Month events, 1988, 1989.
  • Historical Consultant, "Neighborhood Voices," video documentary on Greenwich Village in the 1950s, produced for WNYC-TV, 1985.
  • Script, "Words," educational documentary on the changing terms defining those called "Lesbian" and "Gay;" funded by Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force, 1984.
  • Script, "Coming Out!, A Documentary Play About Gay Life and Liberation in the U.S.A.," produced in New York City, 1972, 1973 (published 1975).
  • Script, "Black Pioneers," Volumes I, II; educational recordings for Caedmon Records, produced with Eartha Kitt and Moses Gunn, 1968-1969.
  • Script, "Resistance at Christiana," radio play about a fugitive slave rebellion, WBAI-FM, New York City; funded by a grant from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation. Produced WBAI, New York, 1969.
  • Script, "The Dispute Over the Ownership of Anthony Burns," radio play about a fugitive slave case, WBAI-FM, New York, 1968.

[edit] Teaching

  • Adjunct, Yale University, Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies: "Lesbian and Gay American History: Introduction to Research and Analysis," January-May 2003.
  • Convener, Princeton University, Faculty Seminar on Same-sex Sexuality in the 19th Century U.S. February-March 2002.
  • Adjunct, Eugene Lang College, NYC; "Heterosexuality: Its History and Politics," Spring 1995;
  • Adjunct, Eugene Lang College, NYC, "Theories of Sexuality: Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual History," Fall 1995;
  • Adjunct, Eugene Lang College, NYC, "Sexuality in U.S. History," Fall 1991.
  • Adjunct, New York University History Department; "Sexuality in U.S. History," Fall 1984.

[edit] Honors

  • 2004: Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. is third on the list of the “100 Best Non-fiction Books” selected by the judges of The Publishing Triangle, the association of gay men and lesbians in publishing. Gay/Lesbian Almanac is 21 on the same list.
  • 2003: Love Stories: Sex Between Men Before Homosexuality, University of Chicago Press, 2001, Co-winner John Boswell Prize from Committee on Lesbian and Gay History.
  • 2003: Recipient of Yale University's Brudner Prize, annual honor bestowed on a leading scholar in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies.
  • 2002: Chosen Annual Kessler Lecturer, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, NYC, Dec.
  • 1999: Chosen co-Grand Marshal, annual gay pride march, by Heritage of Pride Committee.
  • 1999: Honored by Monette/Horwitz Trust "for long term research and writing contributions to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender communities, and for "fostering others' work.
  • 1997: The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Sex Research, from the German Association for Social Scientific Sex Research.
  • 1996: Community Service Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force for twenty years of research on gay and lesbian history.
  • 1995: Publishing Triangle Whitehead Award for "Lifetime Achievement in Lesbian and Gay Literature.".
  • 1980s: New York Council for the Humanities Speakers Program, lecturer on "Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual American History," 1985-1991.
  • 1980s: Invited participant, seminar on "Sexuality, Gender, and Consumer Culture," New York Institute for the Humanities, 1982-1993; gave papers, "The Invention of Heterosexuality;" "The Political Economy of Pleasure."
  • 1979: Keynote Address, "The Abominable Sinner Meets the Alternate Lifestyle," conference on Attitudes Toward Homosexuality, Des Moines, sponsored by the Iowa Board for Programs in the Humanities and the N.E.H.
  • 1978: Keynote Address, "Researching Homosexuality, The Importance of Being Historical," conference: Constructing a History of Power and Sexuality, New York University.
  • 1975: Recipient of the annual Gay Book Award, American Library Association, Task Force on Gay Liberation, for General Editorship of Arno Press-New York Times reprint series on "Homosexuality".
  • Guest Lecturer on Lesbian and Gay American History, Yale, Princeton, University of Chicago, Cornell, Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, City University of NY, etc.
  • The Papers of Jonathan Ned Katz are collected by the manuscript division of The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library.
  • A photograph of Jonathan Ned Katz is included in Kings in Their Castles: Photographs of Queer Men at Home, by Tom Atwood (University of Wisconsin Press, 2005).

[edit] Grants

  • Grant to plan the development of a web site on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from the Zebra Fund/The Funding Exchange, 2005.
  • Ken Dawson Award, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, to research sexual and affectional relations between 19th century American men, 1994.
  • Grant from Pennsylvania Humanities Council to the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force to produce educational documentary, "Words," on the changing terms defining those now called "Lesbian" and "Gay;" originated idea, researched, wrote script, 1985.
  • Two Writer-in-Residence Grants from The New York State Council on the Arts, 1985 and 1984; supported by the Fund for Human Dignity; under service requirement of these grants twice taught 12-session class on Lesbian and Gay American History.
  • Grant from the Louis and Pauline Cowan Foundation to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal History Research Project; directed research on legal history of homosexuals, 1979.
  • Grant from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation (to research American homosexual history, 1976).
  • Grants from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation to research and write plays for radio about fugitive slave cases, 1967, 1968.

[edit] Organizational Activities

  • Founding Member, Gay Academic Union, 1973.
  • Founding Member, National Writers Union, 1980.

[edit] Art Work

  • Ten Katz art works in group show, Molloy/Wright Gallery, Liberty, NY, August 19-20, 2006

[edit] Education

  • Music and Art High School (art major), 1952-1956. Antioch College, 1956-1957; College City of New York, 1957-1959; New School, 1961-1962; Hunter College, 1972. Katz's published books and articles, teaching, and curatorial achievements demonstrate the equivalent of a Ph.D. and he is a Senior Scholar in the field of sexual history.

[edit] Comment: The Invention of Heterosexuality

The Invention of Heterosexuality was first published as an essay in 1990 and then expanded into a larger book. In it, Katz traces the development of the term 'heterosexual' (and its correlate 'homosexual') and all the ideology, social and economic relations, gender expectations, and so on that were packed into it. He notes the radical change, in the late nineteenth century, from a sexual ethic of procreation to one based on erotic pleasure and sexual object choice. The distinction is important to note - a procreation-based ethic condemns all non-procreative sex, categorizing sexual relations based primarily on this point. A gender-based sexual ethic, on the other hand, is concerned with procreative sex on a secondary level, if at all.

Katz follows the development of the term 'heterosexual' as going through several stages. Coined in 1868 (in German, Heterosexualität) by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, the term, used to pathologize certain behaviors, initially referred to a person with an overwhelming drive toward the opposite sex and was associated with a number of pathologized behaviors. In 1889, Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing used the term in something like its modern-day sense. The first known use in America was in 1892, by James G. Kiernan. Here, it referred to some combination of bisexuality and a tendency to thwart the then-existing procreation ethic.

Kraft-Ebbing's Psychopathia Sexualis, published in 1889, and then in English in 1892, marked the clear turning point from a procreation-based sexuality to a pleasure-based ethic which focused on gender to define the normal and the abnormal. Kraft-Ebbing did not, however, make a clean break from the old procreative standards. In much of the discourse of the time, the heterosexual was still a deviant figure, since it signified a person unconcerned with the old sexual norms.

For a variety of economic and social reasons, Katz argues, during the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, this new norm became more firmly established and naturalized, marking out new gender and sexual norms, new social and family arrangements, and new deviants and perverts. One of the important consequences of this line of thought which Katz notes in "Homosexual" and "Heterosexual": Questioning the Terms, is that we can only generalize sexual identities onto the past with a limited degree of accuracy: "So profound is the historically specific character of sexual behavior that only with the loosest accuracy can we speak of sodomy in the early colonies and 'sodomy' in present-day New York as 'the same thing.' In another example, to speak of 'heterosexual behavior' as occurring universally is to apply one term to a great variety of activities produced within a great variety of sexual and gender systems."

[edit] References

  • The Invention of Heterosexuality, published in Socialist Review 20, 1990. Expanded as book.
  • "Homosexual" and "Heterosexual": Questioning the Terms, published in A Queer World, 1997

[edit] See also

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