The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives are calling for papers to be presented at the 17th Australia’s Homosexual Histories Conference to be held at Adelaide University in November 2017.
This annual conference brings together members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer+ communities, academics, researchers, students, community members and arts workers to explore and discuss histories of LGBTIQ+ life, politics, arts and culture in Australia.
The term ‘queer’ is commonly used in two ways. Some people use queer as an umbrella term for LGBTI+ while others use it to refer to identities that can’t be contained by categories such as gay and lesbian. In both cases, queer is used as a noun that has been reclaimed from its former use as an abusive term.
Queer is also used as a verb: ‘to queer’. Queer/ing is a way of making ideas and ideals that are largely taken for granted, strange; of turning them on their heads, of undermining their authority. So, for example, we could argue that male and female should be matters of self-determination rather than biology, or we could queer the idea of binary gender. Or we could argue for the right of queer people to marry, but we could also queer the institution of marriage.
Conference Organisers are seeking proposals for papers, workshops, panels, performances, films, and roundtable discussions that engage with the term queer in any of the ways described above. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
• Queer lives then and now
• Queer/ing – histories, identities, lifestyles, practices, places, politics, institutions, bodies, feelings,
• The art of queer: music, performance, film, literature, fine arts, museums
• Queer youth
• Queer ageing
• The trouble with queer – the pros and cons of the term and its uses
Abstracts of no more than 300 words plus a brief bio of no more than 150 words should be submitted to queerahh2017@gmail.com no later than 31 July 2017.
Queer: The 17th Australia’s Homosexual Histories Conference
Adelaide University, North Terrace, Adelaide
Dates: 10 – 11 November 2017
For more information, visit: www.alga.org.au or www.facebook.com/ahhc2017 for details.