Making Sexual History

"For more than two decades, internationally acclaimed British theorist and historian, Jeffrey Weeks, has been making sexual histories of the most inspirational, intelligent and incisive sort. This magnificent selection of essays on subjects ranging from sexual science to queer theory, from moral panics to sexual solidarities distils the cumulative wisdom and distinctive vision that permeate his substantial oeuvre. With sobered, but sustaining, optimism, Weeks meticulously guides readers through the intellectual and social thickets of the wild and wondrous landscape of the last century of modern Western sexual history, theory and politics. Transcending the fractious polarities of contemporary sexual ideologies, this lucid, accessible book convincingly models its author s central thesis: one of the crucial ways we make sexual history is by thinking and writing new sexual ethics, imaginations and practices into existence. Making Sexual History "goes all the way" to write new sexual and social thrills into our lives as we face the new millennium." Judith Stacey, Streisand Professor of Contemporary Gender Studies, University of Southern California

"Jeff Weeks is the doyen of history of sexuality in Britain. His 1979 volume Sex, Politics and Society remains a foundational text. Indeed the historian working in this field in modern Britain sometimes feels that any contribution made is no more than a footnote to Weeks or an expansion of points he has already made. Making Sexual History presents a broad range of Week s writings, gathered from a range of material previously published in diverse locations between 1977 and 1999" Lesley A. Hall, Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine, Midland History