Anne Balay

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Anne Balay is an American labor historian. A former professor at Indiana University Northwest, she is best known for her oral history collections of LGBT workers: Steel Closets (2014) and Semi Queer (2018).

Contents

Biography

After graduating from Wilbur Cross High School, [1] she obtained her A.B. (1986), A.M. (1988), and PhD (1994) from the University of Chicago. [2] After getting her degrees, she worked as a car mechanic from 1996 to 2001. [1] [3] She was a lecturer at the University of Illinois Chicago from 2001 to 2007 and an assistant professor at Indiana University Northwest from 2007 to 2014. [1] In 2013, she was denied tenure at IU Northwest, and she later filed an Office for Civil Rights complaint that this action was on the basis that she was a lesbian. [4]

In 2014, she published Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers , a collection of oral histories from LGBT steelworkers; [5] the oral histories had been obtained over a course of five years. [6] The book was one of two winners of the National Women's Studies Association's 2014 Sara A. Whaley Prize. [7] In 2015, she was one of the two winners of the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award at the 27th Lambda Literary Awards. [8] The same year, Balay became a visiting assistant professor at Haverford College, [1] working there until 2019. [3]

In 2018, she published another book, Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers , a collection of oral histories of LGBT and Black truck drivers; [9] Balay had spent some time working as a truck driver after failing to obtain tenure at IU Northwest. [2] In 2019, the book was a non-winning finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies at the 31st Lambda Literary Awards. [10]

In August 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that Balay was one of the first sixteen people appointed to its Women of Trucking Advisory Board. [11] Balay was the only higher education organizer for Service Employees International Union Local 1 until she was laid off on January 31, 2023. [12]

Balay has two children. [3]

Publications

Awards

YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2014Steel ClosetsSara A. Whaley PrizeWon [7]
2015N/A Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award [8]
2019Semi Queer Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies Nominated [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Balay, Anne. "Anne Balay". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Nagler, Brooke (2019). "The open road". The University of Chicago Magazine. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "BIO". www.annebalay.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ Flaherty, Colleen (December 5, 2013). "Indiana U. Northwest Professor Says She Was Denied Tenure for Being Gay". Inside Higher Ed . Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Steel Closets | Anne Balay". University of North Carolina Press. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ Puente, Michael (June 2, 2014). "Life in Northwest Indiana's steel closet". WBEZ. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Whaley Prize Recipients". National Women's Studies Association. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Thrasher, Steven W. (June 2, 2015). "John Waters receives 'crown of queer royalty' at 27th Lambda literary awards". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Semi Queer | Anne Balay". University of North Carolina Press. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "31st Annual Lammy Finalists". Lambda Literary. March 7, 2019. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ "FMCSA appoints Women of Trucking Advisory Board inaugural members". August 31, 2022. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Ostrow, Teddy (February 2, 2023). "SEIU Local 1 Lays off 10 Staffers Amid Allegations That Dues Remain Uncollected". In These Times . Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ Reviews of Steel Closets:
  14. ↑ Reviews of Semi Queer:
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