Queer Oxford: 20 Years On

Queer Oxford is a public history project that maps over six centuries of LGBTQ+ life, culture, and heritage across the city Oscar Wilde called "the capital of romance," tracing queer stories through Oxford's colleges, streets, and institutions from the medieval period to the present day. Originally self-published in 2006 as a city guide, the project inspired a range of other initiatives, including guiding walking tours, public exhibitions, and articles in local newspapers and magazines. A bespoke city trail was included as part of the Ashmolean's pioneering 'No Offence: Exploring LGBTQ+ Histories' exhibition in 2018. The project also coincided with the 'localities' turn in British queer history, resulting in a leading article on queer experiences in 1930s Oxford in the Journal of British Studies in 2020. Much of the original material produced for the project can be found on its website (queeroxford.info).

In this event, project creator Ross Brooks will reflect on the challenges of recovering histories that have so often been suppressed, overlooked, or kept silent, exploring the archival, methodological, and ethical questions that have shaped the project from its inception. Brooks will also consider how Queer Oxford has evolved and found new audiences over the two decades since its creation, and ask: Now, twenty years on from its inception, has the time come to revisit, and reinvent, Queer Oxford? The lecture will be followed by a Q+A with the audience.

Dr Ross Brooks (he/him) is an Associate Lecturer in History at Oxford Brookes University. He has been integral in developing queer perspectives in the history of science and his reappraisal of the sexological ideas of Charles Darwin has been especially influential. He has published widely in leading academic journals and his first book, Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life: A History of Sex and Science, will be published by Yale University Press in August.

Location: The Dorfman Centre at St Peter's College, Oxford, OX12DL

Time: Tuesday June 9th, 5-6.30pm.

All are welcome! Entrance is free, and registration is not required, but it would help us in preparing.

Event Venue

St Peter's College, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom

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