Mentor Record

William L. Leap

The American University • Department of Anthropology
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW • Washington, DC 20016
<wlm@american.edu>

Degrees Earned:
Degree
Discipline
School
Date
Ph.D Cultural Anthropology Southern Methodist University 1970

Subfields of Interest within Anthropology:

Linguistics: lesbian/gay language; lesbian/gay cultures in urban US; globalization of lesbian/gay languages and cultures; homosexuality in Southern Africa; language and culture, lgbtq languages, sexualities studies, public anthropology; urban USA, late apartheid Southern Africa

Interests within G/L/B/T/Q Anthropology:

as above

Regions of specialization and Languages:

Urban US, American Indians, Southern Africa

Major Publications:

  • Speaking in Queer Tongues: Globalization and Gay Language
    (edited with Tom Boellstorff)
    Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 2004

  • Out in Theory: The Emergence of Lesbian and Gay Anthropology (coeditor with Ellen Lewin)
    University of Illinois Press, 2002
  • Public Sex/Gay Space (editor)
    Columbia University Press, 1998
  • Out in the Field: Reflections of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists
    (ed/. with Ellen Lewin) • University of Illinois Press, 1996
  • Word's Out
    University of Minnesota Press, 1996
  • Beyond the Lavender Lexicon (editor)
    Gordon and Breach, 1995

Other Relevant Information (Current research, interests, goals):

"Gay City" in Washington DC and Cape Town; gay men's English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa

Bill Leap hosts the annual Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference at the American University in Washington, DC.

Return to MENTORS list • Return to the SOLGA Home Page

The Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA) of the American Anthropological Association was founded in 1988. SOLGA promotes communication, encourages research, develops teaching materials, and serves the interests of gay and lesbian anthropologists within the association.
This site was designed by C. Todd White.