LGBT Studies

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Studies

LGBT Studies is one of the main branches of Gender Studies. LGBT Studies has strong connection with biology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, sexology and other fields of science. The main aim of LGBT studies is exploring different social and biological issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer people. Sometimes LGBT Studies are called Queer Studies.

LGBT Studies as a phenomenon was founded in 1970 year in the University of California, Berkeley.

Main topics of LGBT Studies include:

• Critical Race, Queer, or Transgender Theory/Studies/Policy
• Disability Studies/Crip Theory
• Transnational Genders and Sexualities, esp. Masculinities Across Racial Lines
• Gender and Sexuality in Performance Studies and Visual Culture. (according to the University of Maryland study program).

As LGBT Studies is rather new discipline, it is not very popular yet. It is taught in several universities in USA. For example, Yale University provides several study programs for those who wish to get a Bachelors, Masters or PhD degree in LGBT Studies. Those students who already study some other discipline, but wish to get a Queer Studies degree too, Yale University provides a Graduate Certificate Program. The list of US universities teaching LGBT studies includes Hobart & William Smith Colleges, University of California, Los Angeles, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Maryland, and several others.

Besides US universities, LGBT study programs are provided by the Unividade Federal de Juiz de Fora in Brazil, Fudan University in China and the Monash University in Melbourne. The study program in the Monash University is dedicated to violence towards LGBTQIA+ community.