Historical Background
Robert R. Hodges is a professor emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at California State University, Fullerton, who was active in the gay liberation movement in Southern California and nationally in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a charter member of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Western Gay Academic Union (GAU) in 1976 and served on the national Board of Directors for the GAU as a representative of the Los Angeles chapter.
Hodges received his B.A. from Valparaiso University, his M.A. from University of Missouri, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He was interested in gay themes in 20th-century English and American literature and focused on the work of Joseph Conrad. Hodges published The Dual Heritage of Joseph Conrad (The Hague: Mouton) in 1967.
GAU was founded in New York City in 1973 to promote the collection and dissemination of scholarly information about gays, and to help end discrimination against gays in colleges, universities, and elsewhere. Membership was composed of academic administrators, faculty, staff, and students. GAU grew over time to include local chapters. The national organization held annual conferences on topics related to gays in the academy and published a quarterly newsletter. The organization was disbanded in 1984.
From the guide to the Robert R. Hodges papers, 1976-1994, bulk 1977-1983, (University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.)
