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Andrew Lear

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Andrew Lear
BornDecember 21, 1958 (1958-12-21) (age 65)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
EducationHarvard University
University of Virginia
University of California, Los Angeles

Andrew Lear (born December 21, 1958) is an American author, Classicist, historian of gender and sexuality, and public historian. His academic research focuses on concepts of gender and sexuality in ancient Greek poetry and art.[1] His book on male-male erotic scenes in ancient Athenian vase-painting (Images of Ancient Greek Pederasty: Boys Were Their Gods, co-authored with Eva Cantarella, Routledge 2008), was positively reviewed: it greatly expanded the number of known scenes and proposed a sophisticated framework for their interpretation.[2][3][4][5] He has written articles on topics including gender ideals in the work of Greek poets Anacreon and Theognis, as well as book reviews for Classical World.[6] Lear is seen as an expert on the comparison between ancient and modern views and practices of gender and sexuality.[7][8][9]

Career

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Lear has taught at Harvard, Columbia, Pomona College,[10] and NYU. He won the Harvard Certificate for Excellence in Teaching four times. His teaching reflects a wide range of interests in the Humanities. Before doing his PhD in classics, Lear taught French and Italian language courses at Harvard: he is fluent in both languages, as well as German. He was also a section leader for Helen Vendler's course "Poems, Poets, Poetry." As a Classics professor, he has taught courses in departments of Classics, History, and Women's and Gender Studies, including Greek and Latin language, Greek and Roman history, Greek literature, and courses on gender and sexuality.

Aside from his Classics degrees, Lear has an MA in creative writing from City University of New York, where he studied with Cynthia Ozick. His short stories, poems, and translations have appeared in such journals as Persephone, the Southern Humanities Review, and Literary Imagination. He edited Laura Argiri's historical novel The God in Flight, as is acknowledged in the dedication. Lear also performs actively as a baritone and gives lecture/performances about the Jewish and gay composers and librettists of the German pop industry in the Weimar period.[11]

Pioneering LGBT Historical Tours: Founding Oscar Wilde Tours

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Lear's work includes efforts to bring the history of gender and sexuality to a wide public beyond the academy, through blog posts, lectures, and educational tours that he designs and leads.[12][13] In 2013, he founded Oscar Wilde Tours, the first tour company focused on LGBT history.[14] Oscar Wilde Tours gives LGBT history walking tours of Greenwich Village, as well as "gay secrets" museum tours that illuminate the history of homosexuality hidden in the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and London's National Portrait Gallery.[15][16][17][18] In early 2020, the company launched a new tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art about the history of the male nude in art.[19] Oscar Wilde Tours also offers multi-day tours focused on LGBT history and art.[20] It won the Travvy silver prize in 2016 for best LGBT tour operator and tied with HE Travel for the Gay Travel Awards Tour Operator of the Year; in 2018, Lux Review gave Oscar Wilde Tours the tourism award for Best International LGBT Tour Provider, and in 2019 it won the award for Best Gay Travel Specialist, Northeast USA.[21][22]

Expanding Narratives: Shady Ladies Tours and Recognition

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In 2016, Lear expanded this line by founding Shady Ladies Tours, a tour company focused on women’s history.[23] Their Shady Ladies tour of the Metropolitan Museum presents depictions of royal mistresses and courtesans in the collection,[24] and the Nasty Women tour is about pathbreaking women from Pharaoh Hatshepsut to Gertrude Stein.[25][26] Shady Ladies won the Lux Global Excellence Award in 2017 for best museum tour operator in New York.

Adapting to Challenges: Virtual Initiatives and Future Projects

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar Wilde Tours offered a series of virtual lectures called Zooming Through Queer Culture. Shady Ladies tours also offered virtual lectures. Lear designed and recorded “Out on View” for the Wadsworth Atheneum, the first LGBT audio tour in a US museum. He is developing an LGBT history TV series called “From Sodom to Stonewall” with actor/author Stephen Fry.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "NYU profile". New York University. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  2. ^ "Simon Goldhill in Times Higher Education". Times Higher Education. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  3. ^ "Craig Williams in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.04.65". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Bryn Mawr College. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  4. ^ "James Robson in American Journal of Archaeology". American Journal of Archaeology. Oct 2009. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  5. ^ "TK Hubbard in H-Histsex". H-Histsex. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  6. ^ "NYU profile". New York University. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
  7. ^ Goldhill, Olivia (2016-05-21). "Why do Greek statues have such small penises?". Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  8. ^ Schmidt, Samantha (2016-10-27). "A Sculptor Reaps the Rewards of Art Deals Brokered in the Bedroom". New York Times. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  9. ^ "Unhung Heroes". Studio 360. PRI. December 6, 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Popular professor Lear denied tenure track position in Classics". 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  11. ^ "Marlene and Her Friends: Berlin's Tin Pan Alley -- Before the Nazis Killed It". The Claremont Colleges Calendar. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  12. ^ Lear, Andrew (27 April 2018). "10 Sexy Secrets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art". Untapped Cities. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. ^ "LGBT Art at the MFA". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  14. ^ De Buitléir, Scott (2014-06-06). "A 'Wilde' Vacation -- Gay History for Gay Travelers". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Things to Do in New York This Weekend". YouTube. Time Out New York. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  16. ^ McDonald, James (6 March 2015). "How Gay Is the Metropolitan Museum of Art?". Out. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  17. ^ Strochlic, Nina (5 March 2015). "Inside The Met's Secret Gay Art Collection". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  18. ^ Johns, Merryn (5 June 2015). "Queering Art History". Curve Magazine. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  19. ^ Colyar, Brock (2020-03-06). "I Went on a Tour of (and With) the Met's Members". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  20. ^ Teeman, Tim (11 June 2014). "Adventures in Gay History With Oscar Wilde". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  21. ^ Newcomer, Dianne (23 January 2016). "What Travvy Award winners have to offer". The News Star. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  22. ^ "Gay Travel Awards 2016". gaytravel.com. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  23. ^ Crocker, Lizzie (25 February 2016). "The Metropolitan Museum's Secret High-Class Escorts". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  24. ^ Brooks, Katherine (24 February 2016). "The 'Shady Ladies' Hiding In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  25. ^ Laneri, Raquel (March 31, 2017). "Go to see these 'Nasty Women' at the Met". New York Post. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  26. ^ Arschin, Dana. "Shady Ladies Tours offers a different kind of museum experience". FOX 5 News. WNYW. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  27. ^ O’Flaherty, Mark C. (2019-06-04). "50 years of Pride: How New York's LGBTQ movement flourished against all the odds". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
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