Queer Beyond London is delighted to highlight exciting research and projects exploring queer local histories that will be featured in our upcoming Queer Localities international conference from 30 November – 1 December 2017. 

 

Susan Ferentinos

Over the past five years in the United States, there has been a groundswell of efforts to interpret queer history at museums and historic sites. To be sure, many of these projects have focused on queer experiences in large cities—San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, and Seattle to name just a few. However, an intriguing number of interpretive efforts are now taking place in local history museums and smaller, locally significant historic sites. Because non-urban areas, particularly in the Midwest and southern United States, tend to be considerably more conservative politically, socially, and religiously, public history venues exploring queer history in these locations are in some ways at the forefront of exploring the roles that LGBTQ communities have played in the larger history of the U.S.

This presentation will explore recent queer interpretive efforts by museums and historic sites in smaller cities and towns in the United States. The speaker will seek to identify common themes among successful efforts and consider the potential of such projects to address the expanding culture wars within the United States.

HeadshotBrick.FerentinosSusan Ferentinos is a public history researcher, writer, and consultant based in the United States Midwest. She is the author of Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), which won the 2016 National Council on Public History Book Award. Currently, she is engaged with numerous projects related to the U.S. National Park Service LGBTQ Heritage Initiative. She holds a PhD in U.S. History and a Masters of Library Science, both from Indiana University.


Queer Localities: a two-day international conference
Birkbeck, University of London
30 November – 1 December 2017

Free and open to all, but please REGISTER your place here

Click here to view the Conference Programme.

Main Street USA: Incorporating Queer Experiences into Local History Venues
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