James T. Sears (born August 12, 1951) is an American educator, historian, and activist. He is a former professor at the University of South Carolina, Trinity University, Harvard University, and Penn State.[1][2][3] The author of books about LGBT history and sexuality education, his archive of correspondence, research notes, interviews (totaling 138 linear feet in 317 boxes) is located at the Rubenstein Library of Duke University[4] with ancillary materials at the College of Charleston Special Collections.[5]
Early life
Sears was born on August 12, 1951, in Tipton, Indiana.[1][6][7] He graduated from Southern Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor's degree majoring in history and government in 1974.[1] He earned a master's degree in secondary education from Indiana University, followed by another master's degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1] His PhD, in 1984, from Indiana University Bloomington was a critical ethnography of that same university, where he earned his doctorate in sociology and curriculum studies—and later named Outstanding IU Alumni.[8]
Career
Sears began his career in higher education at Trinity University, in 1983, and then was appointed assistant professor at The University of South Carolina and was promoted to full professor in 1991.[1][9] During his 20-year career at USC, Sears pursued twin writing tracks in sexuality education and LGBT studies establishing himself as "one of the preeminent scholars of southern gay culture"[10] and earning the wrath of the Christian Right. In 1993, Southern Baptist Convention members joined other conservative religious groups across the country in condemning Sears for teaching a graduate course on the impact of Christian fundamentalism on education, earning him the moniker of "Satan of the University" and awarded South Carolina's American Civil Liberties Union First Amendment Award.[11][12][13][14][15] In addition to organizing for LGBT rights on and off campus, Sears was the founding editor of two LGBT journals—Empathy (1988-1994)[16] and the Journal of LGBT Youth (2003–present).[17] He was also an early gay activist locally, co-founding the South Carolina Business Guild and giving a major gay rights speech on the steps of the capitol in 1993.[18]
Sears, James T.; Williams, Walter L., eds. (1997). Overcoming Heterosexism and Homophobia: Strategies That Work. New York City: Columbia University Press. ISBN9780231104227. OCLC36024057.
Sears, James T., ed. (2005). Youth Education and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN9781780341491. OCLC749781670.
Sears, James T. (2001). Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. ISBN9780813532394. OCLC65333824.
Sears, James T. (2011). Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Hal Call Chronicles and the Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation. New York: Routledge. ISBN9780203057063. OCLC1082198658.
Sears, James T. (2024) Queering Rehoboth Beach: Beyond the Boardwalk. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1439923801
^“South Carolina,” Madden, E. (2015). In C. Stewart (Ed.). For Proud Heritage: People, Issues, and Documents of the LGBT Experience. Santa Barbara California: ABC-CLIO.
