Guide to the Robert R. Hodges Papers MS.R.117
Processed by William Landis; machine-readable finding aid created by Audrey Pearson; updated by Zoe MacLeod, April 2023; revised
by Jolene Beiser and Gabrielle Wood June 2023.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2023
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Robert R. Hodges papers
Creator:
Hodges, Robert R.
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.117
Physical Description:
1.3 Linear Feet
(1 box and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1963-1994
Date (bulk): 1977-1983
Abstract: This collection comprises the papers of Robert R. Hodges, professor emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at California
State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and activist in the gay liberation movement in Southern California and nationally in the
1970s and 1980s. His papers include minutes and other administrative material from national and Los Angeles chapter meetings
of the Gay Academic Union (GAU), a variety of GAU newsletters, and other materials relating to scholarly conferences held
by the GAU. His papers also contain a small quantity of research files, as well as files relating to the Orange County chapter
of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club (a gay political group), the Modern Language Association (MLA) Gay Caucus, gays in
the military and the ROTC on CSU campuses (ca. 1990-1992), activism against the Briggs Initiative (Proposition 6), and other
gay issues on the CSUF campus. Also included are letters from Hodges to his life partner, Charles Hensley.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Robert R. Hodges papers. MS-R117. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Robert R. Hodges, 2004 and Howard Seller, 2023.
Custodial History
Robert Hodges gave his papers to Barbara Muirhead and Dick Hitt for use in the Historical Orange County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgender Time Line Project, with the intent that they be donated to the UC Irvine Libraries Department of Special Collections
and Archives.
Processing History
Processed by William Landis, 2004. Finding aid created by Audrey Pearson, 2007. Updated by Zoe MacLeod, 2023.
Historical Background
Robert R. Hodges is a professor emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at California State University, Fullerton,
who was active in the gay liberation movement in Southern California and nationally in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a charter
member of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Western Gay Academic Union (GAU) in 1976 and served on the national Board
of Directors for the GAU as a representative of the Los Angeles chapter.
Hodges received his B.A. from Valparaiso University, his M.A. from University of Missouri, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.
He was interested in gay themes in 20th-century English and American literature and focused on the work of Joseph Conrad.
Hodges published The Dual Heritage of Joseph Conrad (The Hague: Mouton) in 1967.
GAU was founded in New York City in 1973 to promote the collection and dissemination of scholarly information about gays,
and to help end discrimination against gays in colleges, universities, and elsewhere. Membership was composed of academic
administrators, faculty, staff, and students. GAU grew over time to include local chapters. The national organization held
annual conferences on topics related to gays in the academy and published a quarterly newsletter. The organization was disbanded
in 1984.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the papers of Robert R. Hodges, professor emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at California
State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and activist in the gay liberation movement in Southern California and nationally in the
1970s and 1980s. His papers include minutes and other administrative material from national and Los Angeles chapter meetings
of the Gay Academic Union (GAU), a variety of GAU newsletters, and other materials relating to scholarly conferences held
by the GAU. His papers also contain a small quantity of research files, as well as files relating to the Orange County chapter
of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club (a gay political group), the Modern Language Association (MLA) Gay Caucus, gays in
the military and the ROTC on CSU campuses (ca. 1990-1992), activism against the Briggs Initiative (Proposition 6), and other
gay issues on the CSUF campus. Also included are letters from Hodges to his life partner, Charles Hensley.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by subject or document type.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Clippings -- 20th century.
Letters -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Ephemera -- 20th century
Gay liberation movement -- California -- History -- Sources
Newsletters -- 20th century.
Correspondence
Gay men--California--Orange County--Social life and customs.
California State University, Fullerton -- Faculty
California State University, Fullerton -- Archives
Hodges, Robert R. -- Archives
Gay Academic Union -- Archives
box 1, folder 1
Briggs Initiative (No on Proposition 6): information mailings, clippings, and bumper sticker
1977-1978
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF)
box 1, folder 2
Academic Senate ban on ROTC presence in campus correspondence, resolutions, and other material
1990-1991
box 1, folder 3
Anti-gay Daily Titan (student newspaper) clippings and correspondence
1978-1979
box 1, folder 4
Gays at CSUF fliers and other material
1978-1982
folder XOS 1
Clippings
1977-1981
Scope and Contents note
Includes topics such as the Briggs Initiative, gays in the arts and academia, Anita Bryant, homosexuality and Christianity,
and the politics of gay rights.
box 1, folder 5
Correspondence to and from Hodges
1977-1983
Scope and Contents note
Primarily relates to organizing GAU conference programs.
box 1, folder 40
"From Fear to Freedom: The Letters of Robert Hodges to Charles Hensley From 1963-1978" edited by Howard J. Seller
1963-1978
box 1, folder 6
Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club planning material for a "two-party" barbeque and roast
1989-1990
box 1, folder 7
Correspondence relating to the national organization
1979
box 1, folder 8
Awards banquet programs
1978-1979
box 1, folder 9
GAU 5 national conference program and correspondence
1978
box 1, folder 10
GAU 6 national conference correspondence, programs, and other planning material
1979
box 1, folder 11
GAU 7 national conference material and notes
1980
box 1, folder 12
Gaythink Two, Gaythink Three, and Gaythink Four conference programs, fliers, and article from Patchwork, the newsletter of
the California Association of Gay Student Organizations
1976-1978
box 1, folder 13
Symposium 76 program
1976
box 1, folder 14
Los Angeles chapter events fliers and notes
1976-1980
box 1, folder 15
Word is out: stories of some of our lives (documentary film) press kit and review
1978
box 1, folder 16
Minutes, operational documents, and other organizational material for the national organization and California chapters
1977-1979
Scope and Contents note
Includes a photocopy of a letter from Adrienne Rich detailing her reasons for declining the 1978 GAU Award for Literature.
box 1, folder 17
Los Angeles chapter newsletter
1977-1983
Scope and Contents note
Also includes a newsletter published following the organization's change of name to the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union (LGAU).
box 1, folder 18
Los Angeles and San Francisco chapters joint Western Gay Academic Union Newsletter
1976-1977
box 1, folder 19
National organization newsletter
1978-1983
box 1, folder 20
New York chapter Gay Books Bulletin
1979-1980
box 1, folder 21
Newsletter article drafts by unidentified authors
circa 1978-1979
box 1, folder 22
Gay organizations and businesses in California: newsletters and other material
1976-1994
box 1, folder 23
Gay organizations and businesses outside of California: brochures and other material
1978-1979
box 1, folder 24
Gays in the military: correspondence
1990-1991
box 1, folder 25
Integrity, Inc. organizational documents and national convention material
1988-1993
Biographical/Historical note
Integrity Inc. is a gay and lesbian ministry in the Episcopal Church.
box 1, folder 26
Los Angeles Men's Collective newsletter
1979
Modern Language Association (MLA)
box 1, folder 27
Gay Caucus for the Modern Languages: Gay Studies Newsletter
1976-1980
box 1, folder 28
Memoranda, calls for papers, and other material
1976-1979
box 1, folder 30
"The Bloomsbury group: prelude to gay liberation" drafts and research material
1976
box 1, folder 31
Drafts and notes on a variety of issues relating to gay rights activism and gay in literature
circa 1976-1985
box 1, folder 32
"The gay book report" column for the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union Newsletter (Los Angeles chapter)
1981-1984
box 1, folder 33
"Gay themes in Joseph Conrad" drafts
circa 1975-1980
box 1, folder 34
"Lesbian images in mystery fiction" drafts
1979
box 1, folder 35
Research materials, clippings, and data
circa 1976-1985
Writings by other academics on gay-related themes
Scope and Contents note
Writings are primarily drafts submitted for GAU or MLA conferences.
box 1, folder 36
Cady-Hayes
1976-1978
Scope and Contents note
Includes "Housemen and the struggle for a homosexual voice" -- "Gay genocide: from Leviticus to Hitler" -- "Eros, myth, and
stigma: the historical semantics of sexual intolerance" -- "Who hid lesbian history?" -- "The forty years' influence of Stephen
Gordon" -- "The universal passion: a gay revisionist reading of The Bostonians" -- "Paul Verlaine: joyous wanderings and the
crimes of love" -- "Front runner: the gay 'breakthrough' novel or new stereotype?: an enquiry with notes on the screen adaptation"
-- "Gayspeak" -- "Notes on the role of language in the assessment and evaluation of sexual identity and sexual behavior."
box 1, folder 37
Hayes, Joseph J.: "Language and language behavior of lesbian women and gay men" drafts
circa 1978-1980
box 1, folder 38
Lombardi, Michael A.: "Research on homosexuality in nineteenth-century Germany"
1978
box 1, folder 39
Lynch-Zimmerman
1976-1980
Scope and Contents note
Includes " 'We who are variants': a brief tradition in gay male poetry?" -- "Sexual and group relations in 'May day': fear
and longing" -- "Sexist slang and the gay community: are you one, too?" -- "Homosexuality and the sociological perspective:
from perversion to deviance to sex roles?" -- "What has never been: an overview of lesbian feminist literary criticism."
