James McQuaid

James McQuaid

Extension Program Coordinator II, Labor@Wayne
Secretary, Michigan Labor History Society

313-577-6601

james.mcquaid@wayne.edu

253 Walter Reuther Archives

Curriculum vitae

Social media

twitter.com/JamesRMcQuaid

Department

History, Employment and Labor Relations

James McQuaid

Research interest(s)/area of expertise

  • Modern U.S. history
  • Gender, sexuality and women's studies, queer history
  • Labor and working-class history

Research

  • This Union Cause: The Queer History of the United Auto Workers, 1935-2000

Education

  • Ph.D., History, Wayne State University, 2023
  • M.A., History, Wayne State University, 2018
  • B.A., English Language and Literature, Grand Valley State University, 2012

Awards and grants

  • 2021 – 2022: Thomas C. Rumble University Graduate Fellowship, Department of History, Wayne State University
  • 2021: Kruman-Lion Endowed History Graduate Student Award, Department of History, Wayne State University
  • 2021: Dr. Louis Jones HGSA Award, Department of History, Wayne State University. Received jointly with Rachel Manela
  • 2020: Joe L. Norris Endowed Award, “The First Ladies of Labor: How Women Challenged Restrictive Gender Conventions and Established Lesbian Identities on the UAW Shop Floor during World War II,” Department of History, Wayne State University
  • 2020: Joseph Gelinas Drouillard & Elizabeth Lesperance Annual History Award, Department of History, Wayne State University
  • 2019: Charles F. Otis and Dr. Jeffrey L. Reider Scholarship in the History of Gender and Sexuality, Department of History, Wayne State University
  • 2018 – 2021: Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Department of History, Wayne State University

Selected publications

  • Perry, Tam, James McQuaid, Claudia Sanford, and Dennis Archambault. “Detroit’s Work to Address the Pandemic for Older Adults: A City of Challenge, History and Resilience.” In Global Reflections on COVID-19 and Urban Inequalities, edited by Brian Doucet. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2021
  • McQuaid, James. “The Kapanowski Challenge: How Rank and File UAW Members Rallied Around Gay Activists to Fight Runaway Shops in 1972 Detroit.” The Metropole (blog). Urban History Association, January 15, 2020
  • The Kapanowski Challenge: The Intersection Of Sexuality, Labor Activism, And Deindustrialization On The Shop Floor

Courses taught by James McQuaid

Winter Term 2025 (future)

Spring-Summer Term 2024

Winter Term 2024

Fall Term 2023

Winter Term 2023

Fall Term 2022