Lance Pederson

Lance Pederson (he/him/il) is a fourth year PhD student advised by Dr. Craig Koslofsky. Lance grew up in the suburbs of St. Paul, Minnesota, and obtained his B.A. from Hamline University. Lance’s dissertation research focuses on queer sexuality and gender transgression in France and its colonial empire from 1660-1815. Currently, he is working on his preliminary examinations and ongoing research on queer male social networks in the court of Louis XIV. His current research project focuses on the Italian Confraternity scandal of 1682, in which over a dozen French noblemen, including Louis XIV's own illegitimate son, allegedly formed a secret society devoted to sex between men. 

Outside the classroom, he is currently serving as the co-chair of the organizing committee for the 2026 Women's & Gender History Symposium here at the University of Illinois. Starting in the Fall of 2025, he will also be serving as a member of the organizing committee for the 2026 Center for Renaissance Studies Multidisciplinary Graduate Conference at the Newberry Library.