Tag: queer

NACBS 2026 – The Other Enlightenment

On By Charles UpchurchIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In September, 2026, the Journal of British Studies published my article “‘Called It Macaroni’: A British Queer History of the American Revolution,” in their FORUM: 1776. Views from the British World series. The article outlines arguments from my current book project, “Called it Macaroni”: A British Queer History of the American Revolution, as I presented them in public-facing lectures for Tallahassee Pridefest in 2025 and 2026.

The detailed (c. 14,000 words) academic framework supporting the argument was published in the Journal of British Studies, in their “Debating the Field” series, in an article titled “Rethinking Periodization, Priorities, and Liberalism in British Queer History.” This article provides a detailed historiography of the development of the field of LGBTQ history from the early 1970s to the present. It also argues that the political processes associated with modern liberal politics, from the late seventeenth century forward, can account for the formation of self-understanding related to gender and sexuality throughout the modern period.

A version of this argument was published in Ms. Magazine, as a part of its “Founding Feminists” series in March 2026, in an article titled “Claiming the Revolution: Gender, Sexuality, and the Radical Promise of 1776.”

These ideas were first presented to the public in talks were delivered as a part of Tallahassee Pridefest, in the Florida Capital, “‘Called it Macaroni’: Citizenship, LGBTQ History, and the American Revolution” in March 2025, and “Claiming the Revolution: Feminists, LGBTQ People, and 1776” in March 2026. Both talks are illustrated using approximately 50 PowerPoint slides.

For a summary of my book where I outline the early nineteenth-century effort to end the death penalty for sodomy in Britain, there is a recording of the 35-minute presentation I did for the iMagine! Belfast Festival in 2022. That book, ‘Beyond the Law’: The Politics of Ending the Death Penalty for Sodomy in Britain, explored the ways in which liberal political arguments and liberal political practices played a central role in the parliamentary effort to end the death penalty for sodomy in early nineteenth century Britain. The talk is illustrated using 50 PowerPoint slides.

LGBTQ History of the American Revolution Talks

On By Charles UpchurchIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Does your town, city, or organization need a LGBTQ history talk celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, emphasizing what unites us all as Americans? I’ve developed (and presented) two, they can be found here and here, and I’m making them freely available to anyone who wants to use them (I’ll send you the PowerPoints, or invite me, and I can deliver one in person).

A version of one of these talks was published in Ms. Magazine, as a part of its “Founding Feminists” series in March 2026, in an article titled “Claiming the Revolution: Gender, Sexuality, and the Radical Promise of 1776.” The detailed academic framework supporting the argument has just been published in the Journal of British Studies, in their “Debating the Field” series, in an article titled “Rethinking Periodization, Priorities, and Liberalism in British Queer History.”

Both talks were delivered as a part of Tallahassee Pridefest, in the Florida Capital, “‘Called it Macaroni’: Citizenship, LGBTQ History, and the American Revolution” in March 2025, and “Claiming the Revolution: Feminists, LGBTQ People, and 1776” in March 2026, and both were well received. The book that is coming out of this project, ‘Called it Macaroni’: A British Queer History of the American Revolution, will be my third, and is an outgrowth of my broader research as a Professor of British History at Florida State University.

The values at the core of the tax revolt that led to the American Revolution are the same as those at the center of the calls for justice around race, class, gender, and sexuality. These lectures celebrate the radical ideas at the heart of the American Revolution, telling that story in a way that stresses what brings Americans together across the political spectrum. 

Please share this if you think it’s worthwhile. Contact me to receive the PowerPoints and text for either lecture (or if you would like to discuss my delivering one of them in person).