Queer Pasts and Digital Archives

AHA Session 49
Thursday, January 4, 2024: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Cyril Magnin I&II (Parc 55, Fourth)
Chair:
Marc R. Stein, San Francisco State University
Panel:
Lisa Arellano, Mills College at Northeastern University
Darius Bost, University of Illinois at Chicago
Eric Gonzaba, California State University, Fullerton
Wendy Rouse, San José State University

Session Abstract

This roundtable reflects on the process of producing and editing digital history exhibits on queer history. Each participant will discuss their recent curated and peer-reviewed projects for Queer Pasts, published by Alexander Street/ProQuest and coedited by roundtable participants Lisa Arellano and Marc Stein. The projects of the four roundtable participants focus on queer life at Mills College in California (1900-1980); black gay writers’ collectives in New York (1980-1993); LGBTQ t-shirts in the United States (1970-2020); and queer participation in the U.S. women’s suffrage movement (1848-1920). Roundtable chair Marc Stein will discuss his project on Cora Perotta, a Latinx member of New York City's Gay Activists Alliance, once described as “the most arrested lesbian in America” (1970-1972). Panelists will address the challenges and benefits of digitizing queer history; explore the strengths, limitations, and characteristics of their archive; consider the ways in which queer archives are constructed, constrained, and contested; and reflect on the potential uses and abuses of queer digital history. We anticipate an audience that includes conference participants interested in queer history, digital history, U.S. history, and histories of gender and sexuality.
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