James T. Sears (born August 12, 1951) is an American educator, historian, and activist.
[1][2][3] The author of books about LGBT history and sexuality education, his archive of correspondence, research notes, interviews (totaling 138 linear feet in 317 boxes) is located at the Rubenstein Library of Duke University[4] with ancillary materials at the College of Charleston Special Collections.
[1][6][7] He graduated from Southern Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor's degree majoring in history and government in 1974.
[1][9] During his 20-year career at USC, Sears pursued twin writing tracks in sexuality education and LGBT studies establishing himself as "one of the preeminent scholars of southern gay culture"[10] and earning the wrath of the Christian Right.
In 1993, Southern Baptist Convention members joined other conservative religious groups across the country in condemning Sears for teaching a graduate course on the impact of Christian fundamentalism on education, earning him the moniker of "Satan of the University" and awarded South Carolina's American Civil Liberties Union First Amendment Award.