The University Library's Regional History Project has announced the publication of Out in the Redwoods: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 1965-2003.
This documentary oral history book is based on 27 interviews with UCSC students, alumni, and staff. The interviews were conducted by 11 UCSC students who were trained in an oral history internship course, as well as a team of community volunteers. Ten narrative essays by UCSC alumni are also included.
Out in the Redwoods has been published as a 350-page illustrated paperback, featuring a poetic montage of excerpts from the oral histories, and the full narratives by alumni. Also included is a CD-ROM with full transcripts of the oral histories and other resources. Coordinated and edited by oral historian Irene Reti, the book also includes an introduction, timeline, bibliography, and other reference material.
Reti noted that the history of UCSC spans the historical timeline from before Stonewall, through the rise of the feminist movement, gay liberation movement, and other leftist student movements of the 1960s and 1970s, the flourishing of women's studies, and the battle against AIDS, to the queer student activism of the past two decades. She added that at this critical crossroads in history, those who witnessed and participated in the birth of a movement of liberation have been able and willing to share their singular historical experiences with the continuing generation of GLBT college students.
The library has collected a rich archive of historical material that will be the basis of an Out in the Redwoods exhibit on display from January through mid-March 2004. A free public reading/reception for the book will also be held at McHenry Library on Friday, February 6, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Irene Reti at the Regional History Project, (831) 459-2847, ihreti@ucsc.edu.
