James McQuaid
Office Location
253 Walter Reuther Archives
Biography
Research interest(s)/area of expertise
- Modern North American History
- Queer (LGBTQIA+) History
- Labor History, History of the American Labor Movement, History of the UAW
Dissertation Title
This Union Cause: The Queer History of the United Auto Workers, 1935-2000
Education
- Ph.D., History, Wayne State University, 2023
- World History Bridge Certificate, Wayne State University, 2023
- M.A., History, Wayne State University, 2018
- B.A., English Language and Literature, Grand Valley State University, 2012
Awards and grants
- 2024: Honorable Mention, Herbert G. Gutman Prize for Outstanding Dissertation, LAWCHA/OAH.
- 2021 – 2022: Thomas C. Rumble University Graduate Fellowship, Department of History, Wayne State University.
- 2021: Kruman-Lion Endowed History Graduate Student Award, Department of History, Wayne State University.
- 2021: Dr. Louis Jones HGSA Award, Department of History, Wayne State University. Received jointly with Rachel Manela.
- 2020: Joe L. Norris Endowed Award, “The First Ladies of Labor: How Women Challenged Restrictive Gender Conventions and Established Lesbian Identities on the UAW Shop Floor during World War II,” Department of History, Wayne State University.
- 2020: Joseph Gelinas Drouillard & Elizabeth Lesperance Annual History Award, Department of History, Wayne State University.
- 2019: Charles F. Otis and Dr. Jeffrey L. Reider Scholarship in the History of Gender and Sexuality, Department of History, Wayne State University.
- 2018 – 2021: Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Department of History, Wayne State University.
Selected publications
- McQuaid, James. "The Other Minority: The UAW, Midwestern Politics, and Pre-Stonewall Queer-Labor Solidarity." In The Liberal Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest, edited by Jon K. Lauck and Catherine McNicol Stock. Lawrence, KS: Kansas University Press, 2025.
- Perry, Tam, James McQuaid, Claudia Sanford, and Dennis Archambault. “Detroit’s Work to Address the Pandemic for Older Adults: A City of Challenge, History and Resilience.” In Global Reflections on COVID-19 and Urban Inequalities, edited by Brian Doucet. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2021.
- McQuaid, James. “The Kapanowski Challenge: How Rank and File UAW Members Rallied Around Gay Activists to Fight Runaway Shops in 1972 Detroit.” The Metropole (blog). Urban History Association, January 15, 2020.
Courses taught by James McQuaid
Spring/Summer Term 2025 (future)
- ANT 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
- ELR 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
- HIS 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
- PS 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
Winter Term 2025 (current)
- ELR 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
- HIS 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
- PS 1110 - Work and Democracy: An Introduction
Fall Term 2024
- HON 4998 - Honors Senior Thesis
- GSW 4998 - GSW Creative Thesis Project
Spring/Summer Term 2024
- GSW 2100 - Introduction to Queer Theory