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Contribution to Book
Co-operative Comradeships Versus Same-Sex Partnerships: Historicizing Collaboration Among Homosexual Couples in the Sciences
For Better or For Worse? Collaborative Couples in the Sciences (2012)
  • Donald L Opitz, DePaul University
Abstract

In this chapter I consider a range of methodological challenges that complicate historical analysis of same-sex partnerships in science and then adopt Joan Scott's concept of "imbrications" of subjective experiences with political discourses to analyze the sexual-science discourse of Edward Carpenter's homosocial, country ménage near Sheffield, Britain at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on my analysis, I suggest Carpenter's case necessitates an expansion of the category "collaborative couples" beyond a focus on cohabitating, married partners, and I introduce the contemporary term, "co-operative comradeship" as a more historically salient means by which to describe Carpenter's collaborative industry.

Keywords
  • Edward Carpenter,
  • George Merrill,
  • homosexuality,
  • collaboration
Publication Date
2012
Editor
Annette Lykknes, Donald L. Opitz, Brigitte Van Tiggelen
Publisher
Birkhäuser
Series
Science Networks: Historical Studies
Citation Information
Donald L Opitz. "Co-operative Comradeships Versus Same-Sex Partnerships: Historicizing Collaboration Among Homosexual Couples in the Sciences" BaselFor Better or For Worse? Collaborative Couples in the Sciences Vol. 44 (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/donald_opitz/3/