
Marc Stein
I am a historian of U.S. law, politics, and society, with research and teaching interests in constitutional law, social movements, gender, race and sexuality. My books and articles have focused on twentieth century urban gay and lesbian history; U.S. Supreme Court decisions on sex, marriage and reproduction; queer political activism; and sexual politics in the discipline of history. Over the last decade I have taught courses on U.S. constitutional law, gender and sexuality in North American history and the history of twentieth century political movements.
Education
- Ph.D., History, University of Pennsylvania, 1994.
- B.A., History, Wesleyan University, 1985.
Previous Positions
- Visiting Assistant Professor, History Department, Colby College, Waterville, Maine,1996-98.
- Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer, History Department, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1995-96.
- Lecturer and Chimicles Fellow in the Teaching of Writing, History Department, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,1993-95
- Assistant, Associate, and full Professor, History Department and School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, York Univ., 1998-2014.
Selected Publications:

Books:
- Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly Activism (Oakland: University of California Press, 2022).
- The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History (New York: NYU Press, 2019).
- Guest Editor, “U.S. Homophile Internationalism,” special issue of Journal of Homosexuality 64, no. 7 (April 2017).
- Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement (New York: Routledge, 2012).
- Sexual Injustice: Supreme Court Decisions from Griswold to Roe (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2010). Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2011.
- City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves: Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-72 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000; 2nd edition with new preface, Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press, 2004).
- Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America (3 volumes) (New York: Scribners, 2003). Library Journal “Best Reference,” 2004. Booklist “Editor’s Choice,” 2004. Reference and User Services Association (American Library Association) “Outstanding Reference Source,” 2005. New York Public Library “Best of Reference,” 2005.
Articles:
- “Students, Sodomy, and the State: LGBT Campus Struggles in the 1970s,” Law and Social Inquiry, 2022.
- “Power, Politics, and Race in the 1968 Philadelphia Study of Prison Sexual Violence,” Queer Pasts (Alexander St./ProQuest), Nov. 2021.
- “Heterosexual Inversions: Satire, Parody, and Comedy in the 1950s and 1960s,” in Heterosexual Histories: Collected Essays about Sexuality, Norms, and U.S. History, ed. Rebecca Davis and Michele Mitchell (New York: NYU Press, 2021), 195-224.
- "Teaching and Researching the History of Sexual Politics at San Francisco State, 1969–1970," California History, Vol. 98, no. 4 (Winter 2021), 2–29.
- “Law and Politics: ‘Crooked and Perverse’ Narratives of LGBT Progress,” Routledge History of Queer America, ed. Don Romesburg (New York: Routledge, 2018), 315-330.
- “Canada and Canadians in the U.S. Homophile Press,” Journal of Homosexuality 64, no. 7 (April 2017): 963-990.
- “Introduction: U.S. Homophile Internationalism,” Journal of Homosexuality 64, no. 7 (April 2017): 843-849.
- “Race, Class, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Doctrine of Heteronormative Supremacy,” in Connexions: Histories of Race and Sex in North America, ed. Jennifer Brier, Jim Downs, and Jennifer Morgan (Champaign: Univ. of Illinois Press, 2016), 59-81.
- “Historical Landmarks and Landscapes of LGBTQ Law,” in LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, ed. Megan Springate (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 2016), 1-47.
- “The Future of LGBT Civil Rights History: New and Forthcoming Books in the Field,” Journal of Civil and Human Rights 1, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2015): 201-211.
- "Sexual Rights and Wrongs: Teaching the U.S. Supreme Court's Greatest Gay and Lesbian Hits," in Understanding and Teaching U.S. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History, ed. Leila Rupp and Susan Freeman (Madison: Univ. Wisconsin Press, 2014).
- "Canonizing Homophile Sexual Respectability: Archives, History, and Memory," Radical History Review, no. 120 (Fall 2014): 52-73.
- "All the Immigrants Are Straight, All the Homosexuals Are Citizens, But Some of Us Are Queer Aliens: Genealogies of Legal Strategy in Boutilier v. INS," Journal of American Ethnic History 29, no. 4 (Summer 2010): 45-77.
- "The U.S. Supreme Court's Sexual Counter-Revolution," Organization of American Historians Magazine of History 20, no. 2 (Mar. 2006): 21-25.
- "Crossing the Border to Memory: In Search of Clive Michael Boutilier (1933-2003)," Torquere, (2004): 91-115 (published Nov. 2005).
- "Boutilier and the U.S. Supreme Court's Sexual Revolution," Law and History Review 23, no. 3 (Fall 2005): 491-536. "
- "Committee on Lesbian and Gay History Survey on LGBTQ History Careers," Perspectives 39, no. 5 (May 2001): 29-31.
- "Rizzo's Raiders, Beaten Beats, and Coffeehouse Culture in 1950s Philadelphia," in Modern American Queer History: Essays in Representaion, Lived Experience, and Public Policy, ed.Allida M. Black. (Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press, 2001), 155-80.
- "'Birthplace of the Nation': Imagining Lesbian and Gay Communities in Philadelphia, 1969-70," in Creating a Place for Ourselves, ed. Brett Beemyn (New York: Routledge, 1997), 253-88.
- "Sex Politics in the City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves," Radical History Review, no. 59 (Spring 1994): 60-92
Honors and Awards:
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant, 2014-16.
- Faculty of Graduate Studies Teaching Award, York Univ., 2010.
- Audre Lorde Prize for Best Article in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Committee on Lesbian and Gay History (affiliated with the American Historical Association), 2006.
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Standard Research Grant, 2001-05.
- Gregory Sprague Prize for Best Chapter in Lesbian/Gay History, Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, 1996.
- Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Bryn Mawr College, 1995-96.
- The Ohio State Univ, Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined), 1995-96.
- Chimicles Fellowship, Writing Across the University, Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1994-95.
- Andrew W. Mellon Dissertation Fellowship, Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1993-94.
- Ken Dawson Annual Award for Lesbian/Gay History, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, City Univ. of New York, 1993.
- Leonard Prize for Highest Standards of Character and Performance in Campus Life, Wesleyan Univ., 1985.
- Phi Beta Kappa, Wesleyan Univ., 1985.
Online Exhibits
- “Boutilier v. Immigration and Naturalization Service (1967), Outhistory, 22 May 2017, http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/boutilier.
- "U.S. Homophile Internationalism:Archive and Exhibit," Outhistory, Dec. 2015, http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/us-homophile
- "50th Anniversary Demonstrations, Philadelphia," Outhistory, 23 Jun. 2015, http://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/50th-ann
- "Dewey's Sit-In, Philadelphia, April 25, 1965," Outhistory, 20 Apr. 2015, http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/deweys-sit-in
- "Philadelphia LGBT History Project," Outhistory, Jan. 2010; revised Sep. 2013, Nov. 2014, and July, 2016, http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/philadelphia-lgbt-interviews
Popular Publications
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“The End of Faculty Tenure,” Inside Higher Ed, 25 April 2022, https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/04/25/declining-tenure-density-alarming-opinion.
- “Bringing Queer History to the Public,” History News Network, 17 April 2022, https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/182978.
- "Punish the Voting Rights Villains,” Public Seminar, 26 May 2021, https://publicseminar.org/essays/punish-the-voting-rights-villains/.
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"When A Boycott Blocks Queer Research,” Public Seminar, 18 May 2021, https://publicseminar.org/essays/when-a-boycott-blocks-queer-research/.
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"Where Perversion is Taught’: The Untold History of a Gay Rights Demonstration at Bucks County Community College in 1968,” OutHistory, 13 Apr. 2021, https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/wh/whe.
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“Recalling Purple Hands Protests of 1969,” Bay Area Reporter, 31 Oct. 2019, 4-5, https://www.ebar.com/news/news//283715.
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“Stonewall and Queens,” From the Square: NYU Press Blog, 9 Aug. 2019, https://www.fromthesquare.org/stonewall-and-queens/#.XVSCNehKhPY.
- “Queer Rage: Police Violence and the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969,” Process: A Blog for American History, 3 June 2019, processhistory.org/stein-stonewall.
- “A Theory of Revolution for the Riots,” The Gay & Lesbian Review, May 2019, 19-20.
- “50 Years Ago the US Supreme Court Upheld the Deportation of ‘Homosexuals’ As ‘Psychopaths,’” History News Network, 22 May 2017, http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/165958.
- “Queering Immigration in the Age of Trump: A Roundtable on Boutilier v. INS,” Notches: (Re)marks on the History of Sexuality, 22 May 2017, http://notchesblog.com/2017/05/22/queering-immigration-in-the-age-of-trump-a-roundtable-on-boutilier-v-ins/.
- Immigration Is a Queer Issue: From Fleuti to Trump,” UNC Press Blog, 24 Feb. 2017, http://uncpressblog.com/2017/02/24/marc-stein-immigration-is-a-queer-issue/.
- “Political History and the History of Sexuality,” Perspectives, Jan. 2017, 17-21.
- “Jonathan Ned Katz Murdered Me: History and Suicide,” Process: A Blog for American History, 8 Mar. 2016, http://www.processhistory.org/stein-katz/.
- “North Carolina’s Brutal Tradition of Sexual and Gender Discrimination,” History News Network, 4 Apr. 2016, http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/162473.
- “The Supreme Court Nomination and the Politics of Checks and Balances,” AHA Today: A Blog of the American Historical Association, 29 Feb. 2016, http://blog.historians.org/2016/02/the-supreme-court-nomination-and-the-....
- “Monica, Bill, History, and Sex,” Active History, 13 Nov. 2015, http://activehistory.ca/2015/11/monica-bill-history-and-sex/.
- “Did You Know California Requires Professors to Sign A Loyalty Oath,” History News Network, 13 Sep. 2015, http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/160596.
- “Refreshing Abominations: An Open Letter to Anthony Kennedy,” Outhistory, 4 May 2015, http://outhistory.org/blog/refreshing-abominations-an-open-letter-to-anthony-kennedy/.
- “Happy Anniversary to the Dewey’s Sit-In,” Bay Area Reporter, 23 April 2015, http://ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=guest_op&id=510.
- “The First Gay Sit-In Happened Fifty Years Ago,” History News Network, 6 Apr. 2015, http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/159021.
- “Heterosexuality in America: Fifty Years and Counting,” Notches: (Re)marks on the History of Sexuality, 22 July 2014, http://notchesblog.com/2014/07/22/heterosexuality-in-america-fifty-years....
- “Sotomayor v. Roberts: Race, Affirmative Action, and Impatience,” UNC Press Blog, 8 July 2014, http://uncpressblog.com/2014/07/08/marc-stein-sotomayor-v-roberts-race-a....
- “The Long Struggle to Stop Employment Discrimination Against LGBT People Is Even Longer Than You Think,” History News Network, 23 Jun. 2014, http://hnn.us/article/156103.
- "Memories of the 1987 March on Washington," Aug. 2013, OutHistory.org, http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/march-on-washington/exhibit/by-marc-stein
- "Five Myths about Roe v. Wade," UNC Press Blog, 22 Jan. 2013, http://uncpressblog.com/2013/01/22/marc-stein-five-myths-about-roe-v-wade/.
- "Justice Kennedy and the Future of Same-Sex Marriage," UNC Press Blog, 8 Nov. 2010, http://uncpressblog.com/2010/11/08/justice-kennedy/.
- "Gay Rights and the Supreme Court: The Early Years," UNC Press Blog, 4 Oct. 2010, http://uncpressblog.com/2010/10/04/gay-rights-and-the-supreme-court/.
- "Fifty Years of LGBT Movement Activism in Philadelphia," Philadelphia Gay News, 30 Sep. 2010, http://epgn.com/view/full_story/9715905/article-Fifty-years-of-LGBT-movement activism-in-Philadelphia
- "In My Wildest Dreams: The Marriage That Dare Not Speak Its Name, History News Network, 4 Jan. 2010, http://www.hnn.us/articles/121810.html.
- "Post-Tenure Lavender Blues," History News Network, 7 Jan. 2006, http://hnn.us/articles/19941.html.
- "Did the FBI Try to Blackmail Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas," History News Network, 18 July 2005, http://hnn.us/articles/13170.html.
- "Recalling Dewey's Sit-In," Philadelphia Gay News, 29 Apr. 2005, 10, 22-23. Reprinted as "The First Gay Sit-In," History News Network, 9 May 2005, http://hnn.us/articles/11652.html.
- "If W Had Written the Declaration of Independence," History News Network, 1 Nov. 2004, http://hnn.us/articles/8062.html.
- "Mr. President: I'm Glad You Called," History News Network, 8 Mar. 2004, http://hnn.us/articles/3969.html.
- "Forgetting and Remembering a Deported Alien," History News Network, 3 Nov. 2003, http://hnn.us/articles/1769.html.