Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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In this paper, I tackle the question of the validity of lesbian as a category of historical analysis. To do this, I first explore the history of lesbian as a category of identity from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, focusing specifically on how it has changed over

In this paper, I tackle the question of the validity of lesbian as a category of historical analysis. To do this, I first explore the history of lesbian as a category of identity from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, focusing specifically on how it has changed over time. This leads into a discussion of lesbian as a category of scholarly analysis by lesbians themselves, with special attention given to Adrienne Rich’s essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” and her concept of the lesbian continuum. I then seek to establish this concept of the lesbian continuum as a valid category of historical analysis that we can use to analyze women and their relationships with other women. Crucially, this analysis is centered on the middle and upper class whose social situations afforded them the privilege of being recorded in history. As a result, much of this paper is unfortunately centered on white women rather than women of color. While the latter half of the twentieth century began to see the inclusion of women of color in lesbian scholarship, there is still much room to expand this paper via research into the lives of lesbian women of color since the Victorian era.
ContributorsCvancara, Alexandra Barolet (Author) / Boyce-Jacino, Katherine (Thesis director) / Weitz, Rose (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05