Queer Histories of the Midwest — Panel Debrief from the 2025 OAH Conference on American History

This special panel debrief edition of the Journal of American History Podcast features a conversation on “Queer and Trans Histories of the Midwest,” held at the 2025 OAH Conference on American History in Chicago.In this episode, Marc Ridgell (University of Pennsylvania), Clare Forstie (Saint Paul College), Steven Louis Brawley (LGBTQ History Project in St. Louis), René Esparza (Washington University in St. Louis), and Nic Flores (University of Illinois Urbana Champagne) unpack their panel session which broadly discussed the importance of focusing on the Midwest when studying, archiving, and writing queer history. In this debrief discussion, hosted by Marina Mecham and Kasha Appleton, the panelists respond to questions such as: what can we learn about resistance and everyday resistance strategies from queer history? Why are queer archives important and what sources can people turn to to write queer histories? How does the history of the AIDS crisis shift when centering/focusing on the Midwest? Who is this historical work for and why is it important? This panel was solicited by the OAH Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Historians and Histories and endorsed by MHA and the WHA. Music: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band’s Mabel’s Dream, 1923X: @thejamhist | Facebook: The Journal of American History#JAHCast