PUBLISHED: 05-04-09

Someone You Should Know

Professor works to strengthen queer studies

Commonly described by her colleagues as a “warrior” and a “hero,” Victoria Shannon has cracked the glass ceiling for queer students of Columbia, and many say the campus has changed dramatically because of her presence.

Shannon has devoted her tenure at Columbia to welcoming the LGBTQ community and designing curriculum courses to raise awareness. She created the Office of GLBT Concerns in 2001 but has recently taken a more behind-the-scenes role by developing queer curriculum that she feels is equally important in all communities at Columbia.

She has developed such classes as Queer Theory I and II, Gay and Lesbian History, and she is currently working to create a gay and lesbian psychology class.

Shannon has captured many students with her hands-on teaching techniques and loves to incorporate fun while learning. Most recently, she held an entire transgender week in her Queer Theory class and encouraged her students to dress

accordingly. Shannon has pursued her passion of raising awareness about the queer community during her time at Columbia and hopes that there can one day be a major to reflect queer studies.

The Chronicle talked to Shannon about her views on sexual health in the queer community, gay marriage and her curriculum plans for the future.

The Chronicle: How did you get your start at Columbia and how did you get so involved in curriculum development?
Victoria Shannon: When I started at Columbia, I was adjunct faculty in the English Department, and queer studies was something I was interested in because we have a lot of gays here and they need to be affirmed. Plus, there was nothing when I was in college. So I requested a curriculum grant to start Queer Theory. That class has since become a two-part course.

Why is it so important to you that the queer community be embraced in not only social aspects, but academically, as well?
The kids keep asking about more classes, so I keep developing more. I think we are morally obligated to give the students what they want. Gay and lesbian students need to know that someone takes them seriously, and someone needs to step up and be a role model for them. However, my classes are for people of all sexualities.

In your classes, do you ever discuss the not-so-talked-about issues, such as sex education in alternative lifestyles?
Oh, I absolutely talk about those issues. It is important for me to raise awareness. In each of my courses that I’ve created, there is a sexual health workshop. I bring guest speakers in to teach about STDs, protection options and I encourage STD testing. Students learn how to be safe while also networking with members of the GLBT community in Chicago.

Have you felt supported by Columbia’s administration?
Absolutely. I think Columbia is a gay-friendly place and that the gay community is very supported. I think that people like Lisa Brock, chair of the Humanities, History and Social Sciences Department, have been fantastic. She has put her full support behind me, and others have done the same. I have even convinced others to teach some of the classes I’ve developed or pestered people to put queer content in their own courses.

Do you plan to create more courses?
Yes, I am still working on a gay and lesbian psychology course that was once rejected. I am also really interested in teaching social class. I don’t just focus on gay and lesbian stuff. That’s the legacy that I want to leave, I want there to be a lot of courses and diversity within them.

How do you feel about social issues outside of Columbia, such as gay marriage?
I am an advocate of civil rights and equality among all people. I do hope that we are one day given the right to marry, because I would like to marry my partner. We should no longer be treated as second-class
citizens.

Have you ever received any discrimination from administration or students at Columbia?
I have never received any opposition from students; however, when it comes to the administration, sometimes things have been more difficult than necessary, but I don’t want to call it discrimination. These new generations of people are not bigots. They are not homophobic, racist, sexist or any of those things. But I have had people say to me that when it comes to my work, I’m obsessed. But, I feel if it were anyone else, they’d probably use the word “focused” instead.

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