The historical period of 1650-1800 includes massive historical transformations with particular purchase for the history of gender, yet this period has only begun to attract substantial attention from scholars of trans studies. This volume seeks to gather work that engages rigorously with trans studies methodologies while deepening the field’s engagement with historical periods and materials across regions, languages, and disciplines.

We invite chapter proposals that think broadly about “trans lives” in the long 18th century, though we do not propose one stable meaning of “trans lives” in this period or in our historical methodologies; rather, we welcome work that questions or pushes back against prioritizing what is legible as “trans” for contemporary readers/scholars and that opens a wide range of inquiry into the histories of categories, institutions, and practices that shape “trans lives” either in the past or in the present. At the same time, we acknowledge the colonial frameworks that have shaped this volume’s periodization, and we welcome work that critically interrogates the periodization of “the long 18th century.”

This volume is part of the Cultural History of Trans Lives series, under contract with Bloomsbury and edited by Blake Gutt, Greta LaFleur, and Emily Skidmore. The series, which we expect will be released as open access after its first year of publication, aims for a broad readership across and beyond academia. We particularly seek proposals for chapters that can both advance scholarly conversations on trans histories of this period and speak to a broader audience of academics across fields, students, activists, community members, and anyone interested in the histories that shape trans lives now.

Each volume in the series will contain eight chapters naming broad, general topics (outlined in more detail in the general series call for contributions). We welcome a wide variety of interpretations of the chapter topics from specific disciplinary, geographical, and methodological vantage points. We also understand that contributions might potentially fall under multiple possible categories, and so we welcome proposals that name multiple potential chapters of interest. We seek contributions from writers from a wide range of academic or nonacademic placements, career stages, and disciplinary locations. 

To propose a contribution, please send a CV and a brief chapter proposal (maximum 500 words) to chtlvol4@gmail.com.