The first LGBTQ+ studies course taught at the college level in the United States was at UC Berkeley in 1970. It would take another 16 years before City College of San Francisco would create the first Gay and Lesbian Studies Department (now known as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans Department).
City College introduced its first LGBTQ+ studies course this spring semester as the college tries to keep its curriculum current with the needs and interests of queer students.
As a social justice course, Intro to LGBTQ+ Studies (SJS 310) aims to educate students on the impact of political, cultural, historical, and social factors on LGBTQ+ individuals and communities, according to the City College 2023 to 2024 catalog. Professor Jeannette Kiel, one of two adjunct professors in the Women and Gender Studies Department, is teaching the course this semester in its inaugural run.
“I think it’s important to have this because students really want this,” Kiel said, “As faculty, we know it’s needed. And the fact that it’s happening now, I think it’s really important, especially with everything that’s going on politically.”
Offered as an asynchronous class this semester with all 40 seats available filled, Kiel hopes to create a community where students feel comfortable being their true selves.
“I want it to be a course where students are able to just be their authentic selves,” said Kiel, “It’s not just learning the key terms, [but] also learning about the history and the activism that’s behind it.”
To learn more about students’ needs, The Queer and Trans Community College Oral History Project, conducted by American River College Professor Sara R. Smith-Silverman in 2023, includes interviews with queer students on their experiences. Ayana Gaines, a studio art and art history major at ARC noted the significance of a curriculum focused on queer studies.
“It’s a history that is not often taught, and it is not just about gay people,” said Gaines, “There is so much more to it that people should know.”
Smith-Silverman, who uses she/they pronouns, has taught Intro to LGBTQ+ Studies since its first offering in 2020 at American River College. She credits the course with creating a community for queer students in a unique way.
“They have found tremendous value in the class. They were able to learn about themselves and the queer community and queer history in a way that they’ve never been able to do before,” said Smith-Silverman on the class at ARC.
To bring the course to City College, Prof. Carl Sjovold, an educator for over 20 years in City College’s History Department, wrote the new class with the help of faculty and the course already in place at ARC. As every new course does, SJS 310 went through the Curriculum Subcommittee, the district, and finally, the Chancellor’s office for final approval.
“We want to expand the number of offerings in Women and Gender Studies and introduction to LGBTQ studies is typically a core class in that curriculum,” Sjovold said.
The addition of a course focused on queer studies is a significant step in reflecting student interests in LGBTQ+ experiences and identities. However, it remains the only queer studies course currently offered at City College.
“Having a better curriculum that has more queer [studies] and that are not necessarily so narrow, I feel like that is the only way to really get good foundational change and help people better themselves,” said Gaines.
