Lane Fenrich controls time. Balancing book writing, teaching and general scholarly duties, it’s as if the Weinberg assistant dean and history professor lives 48-hour days.
One of Northwestern’s best known “faculty celebrities,” Fenrich, though at 45 is still quite young, has established himself as a respected scholar. Currently Fenrich is working on a book project, titled, “Envisioning Holocaust: Visuality and Memory at the End of the Second World War” and already has plans for another called “Fear of Spying: Learning to be Normal in America’s Queerest Decade.” With the publication of these two books, he will further establish his prominence in both the Holocaust and queer theory.
Adding the kick-off discussion for Out at Chicago History Museum series on sexual politics to his resumé was nothing.
But Fenrich’s urge to be productive isn’t reflected in the relaxed setting of his office, save the slight signs of restlessness that emerge as he haphazardly opens and closes his desk drawer while talking. He lounges in his chair, putting his hands behind his head, casually divulging future plans. Fenrich, who received his Ph.D. from NU in 1992, established clout in his fields of study through dozens of articles and professional lectures, concerning topics from “Mommies, Commies and Queers” to “The History of Radical Chicago.” He also teaches the popular American Gay and Lesbian History course at NU and planned to address topics covered in class at the Out at CHM series.
In particular, Fenrich will speak about the policing of public spaces, such as airport restrooms in the Larry Craig scandal, while also drawing similarities from the “don’t ask, don’t tell” debates. He will be discussing how surveying these spaces for inappropriate behavior isn’t nearly as common for straight people as it is for gay people. “It’s all so sort of secretive and furtive that the idea that it continues to draw so much attention, fire, urgency, is what intrigues me,” Fenrich says. And he’ll draw even more attention to the topic tonight, when he will be speaking to a potential sold-out crowd at the history museum.
