The University of North Texas Libraries invite applications for the 2020 UNT Special Collections Research Fellowship. Research in special collections is relevant to studies in a variety of disciplines including history, journalism, political science, geography, fine art, art history and American studies. We encourage applicants to think creatively about new uses for special collections. Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate the greatest potential for publication and the best use of special collections at UNT Libraries.

The UNT Special Collections 2019 Research Fellowship Awardee

Timothy Vale

Project Title

Crimson Legacy: AIDS Patients and Gay Male Sexuality in America Since 1980

Project Description

This dissertation examines how gay men and their communities confronted the HIV/AIDS epidemic and in turn, how they responded to public and medical perceptions of the disease from the 1980s to the present. Through examining the cities of Houston and Los Angeles, this dissertation rejects the typical “monolithic” depiction of HIV/AIDS and the gay community found in many historical works by arguing that the way in which gay men and their communities combatted and memorialized the HIV/AIDS epidemic was not a straightforward process.

Biography

Timothy Vale was born and raised in Houston, Texas and went to high school at Cy-Fair High School. He attended the University of Houston receiving a Bachelor’s degree in History and minor in Anthropology in 2013. He returned to the University of Houston in 2015 as a master’s student and transferred to the PhD program in August of 2016. His focus is on History of American Medicine and LGBT History.