In 2015, South Australia celebrates the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of male homosexual activity. 2015 is also the United Nations’ Year of Evaluation. In this context, the 2015 Australian Homosexual Histories Conference aims to shed light on queer histories in order to inform future queer directions. Have LGBTI Australians changed from outlaws to in-laws, or do the two now exist side by side?
The 2015 Australian Homosexual Histories Conference will be opened by the Hon Peter Duncan, Attorney-General in the Dunstan Government, who introduced the 1975 legislation which saw South Australia become the first jurisdiction nationally to decriminalise male homosexual acts.
Inviting you to be stimulated and inspired by participating in the Conference and associated events, this year’s Conference (Friday 13 & Saturday 14 November) coincides with the opening weekend of Feast – Adelaide’s Queer Cultural Festival, and will conclude in time for the Pride March on Saturday evening.
Conference organisers welcome a broad range of presenters and attendees from community, activist, student and academic backgrounds, and anyone with an interest in history. The Conference invites papers that take an historical approach to any of the following:
~ Queer lives: activism, organising, life courses, ageing
~ Sex: identities, practices, sites, work
~ Queer kinship: family, parenting, marriage, nationalism ~ Histories of inclusion/exclusion: migration, race and ethnicity, class, dis/ability, gender, sex
~ Queer creative practice: storytelling, performance, music, art, film, digital
~ Governing queerness: law, medicine, education, media, military, prison
~ Preserving Queer histories: acknowledging, recording, keeping, sharing
Abstracts of no more than 200 words are invited for contributions in the following formats: 20 minute paper; 10 minute short presentation or paper; panel discussion; poster; and film. A brief biography of the presenter (no more than 150 words) should also be included.
The deadline for Abstracts is 30 June 2015, and can be sent to: ahhconference2015@gmail.com. Notification to abstract authors will be 31 July 2015. Publication of selected papers in a special edition of Gay and Lesbian Perspectives may be invited.
Further information will be available in coming months at: www.feast.org.au and www.alga.org.au