Kristyn Scorsone
PhD in American Studies
Rutgers University - Newark
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Kristyn Scorsone (they/them) earned a PhD in American Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. Their research focuses on LGBTQ+ history, African American women’s history, urban history, and public history. They are a public historian with the Queer Newark Oral History Project, a community-directed initiative to capture the life stories of LGBTQ+ people in and of Newark, NJ.
They have a chapter in the 2024 book: Queer Newark: Stories of Resistance, Love, and Community edited by Dr. Whitney Strub. Their chapter, “Glitter on Halsey Street: Queer and Trans World-Making In Newark, 1970s–Present,” covers two generations of Newark’s LGBTQ+ history, bars and clubs of the 1970s and contemporary Black lesbian-owned businesses and activism. Lambda Literary listed Queer Newark as among their most anticipated books for February, 2024!
Queer Newark is available through Rutgers University Press.
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Kristyn Scorsone is a lecturer in the History department at Rutgers-New Brunswick. They have also taught at Rutgers-Newark. Their courses include: Public History: Theory, Method, and Practice, Digital History, New Jersey History, Introduction to Oral History, History of Newark, African American History I, U.S. History I, and Oral History: Storytelling as Resistance.
Their dissertation, A Way Out of No Way: The Labor and Activism of Black Queer and Transgender People in Newark, New Jersey, 1970s-present draws extensively on their research with the Queer Newark Oral History Project. sheds new light on Newark, New Jersey, a majority Black postindustrial northern city that remains understudied. A Way Out of No Way reveals how Black LGBTQ+ Newarkers have a long tradition of activist organizing, entrepreneurship, and spiritual labor that has been fueled by creativity, collaboration, and traditions of racial and gender affirmation.
Since joining QNOHP in 2015 they have conducted over two dozen oral histories, given numerous presentations, oral history workshops, and interviews, designed and led Queer Newark walking tours, co-curated the 2017 traveling exhibit, At Home in Newark: Stories from the Queer Newark Oral History Project, and produced and hosted the Queer Newark podcast.
They have a wide body of published work. Their article in the May 2019 issue of The Public Historian, “Invisible Pathways: Public History by Queer Black Women in Newark,” was listed as among the five “Most-Read Articles” for October 2020. They have also written for Journal of the History of Sexuality, The Star-Ledger, History@Work, Notches, OutHistory, and Out in New Jersey and was featured with two QNOPH co-founders in an audio essay for Audible, "Queer Like Us: A Conversation with the Queer Newark Oral History Project.” Forthcoming publications include an exhibit review for the Journal of American History, a chapter that explores issues of race and sexuality through the hit television show The Golden Girls, and a diary comic about an immigrant detention facility they toured during graduate school.
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You can check out Kristyn Scorsone's Trans Sites of Power Apple Guides Map highlighting places where transgender individuals stood in their power, resisted oppression, found joy, shared community knowledge, and formed radical coalitions. They also shaped Apple's Pride 2023 campaign, "Illuminating Us." Their research for Apple explored solidarity and allyship in the LGBTQIA+ community through a narrative framework based on their work as an oral historian with Queer Newark. Their work influenced how editorial and design teams across Apple Services honored Pride-led narratives globally on Apple TV, podcasts, music, maps, and their app store.
Available for faculty positions, presentations and guest lectures, LGBTQ+ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training, public history projects, and consultation, as well as workshops for K-12 educators on how to use the Queer Newark Oral History Project as an diverse historical resource to meet New Jersey's LGBTQ+ curriculum mandate.
Contact: k.scorsone@rutgers.edu
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Jennifer Bucalo, Ph.D.
Director of Partnerships
& Engagement
Academic Foundations Center
Rutgers University - Newark
Kristyn has presented for students that are part of the BOLD Women's Leadership Network about creating safe spaces for LGBTQ colleagues and coworkers. As our undergraduate students prepare for graduation and entering the workforce, Kristyn's informative presentation allowed for students to ask questions and learn without judgement. I have heard Kristyn present on various occasions and each time I have learned something new. I have recommended that Kristyn speak in other higher education spaces for staff meetings, but their presentation would serve well for any professional development spaces.
Anne M. Valk, Ph.D.
Director, American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Professor, PhD Program
in History
CUNY Graduate Center
In 2021, Kristyn presented to the Urban Listeners, a NYC group of scholars and documentarians. Kristyn’s presentation, based on many years of involvement with the Queer Newark project, thoughtfully blended a discussion of community history with attention to many important methodological issues. I was most impressed by Kristyn’s deep understanding of many facets of public history practice and their apparent commitment to research processes developed through deep collaborations with community members. Students, researchers, and practitioners interested in undertaking community-based oral history and engaged public humanities projects would learn a lot from Kristyn!
Joseph Plaster, Ph.D.
Director, Tabb Center
& Curator in Public Humanities
Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries & Museums
Kristyn gave a fabulously engaging presentation to students enrolled in Queer Oral History, an undergraduate course I taught at Johns Hopkins University. Kristyn presented on the Queer Newark Oral History Project, a community-directed initiative to record the life stories of LGBTQ+ people in and of Newark, NJ, and engaged students in a vibrant conversation about interview methods, historical representation, and public humanities. They were also able to provide insight on creating historical walking tours, multi-media exhibits, and podcasting.
I met Kristyn through their work with the Queer Newark Oral History Project. I was considering a similar project in my class and they delivered an interactive Zoom lecture on the topic of doing queer oral history to my class. Kristyn was an engaging and knowledgeable facilitator who made plenty of room for student curiosity. I saw first-hand that students used Kristyn’s best practices in their oral history interviews. I consider Kristyn one of my teachers in queer oral history methods, and they have remained a generous educator who offers to share skills and insight because they deeply care about this work.