Why (Queer) History Matters: The Politics of History (video 1 of 3)
International, interdisciplinary conference, 29-30 August 2022, at the University of Bergen.
Neglect and erasure of queer history has been the norm in all national histories until quite recently. In this conference we address how this highly problematic practice of history can also enable the eradication of LGBT+ rights in contemporary societies. For, in some places LGBT communities are seen as a national threat while in others, homo-tolerance is instrumentalized to build national self-identity. In both cases, interest in and knowledge of queer history is usually absent. In this conference we therefore ask: How are national histories cleansed of unwanted elements? What role does ignorance and censorship play? Can the lack of knowledge of queer history be fundamental to contemporary oppression of queers? If so, what can be done to preserve and disseminate queer histories?
In this conference we hear reflections and examples on how and why queer history matters in different contexts. Norway officially opened its national queer archive here in Bergen in 2015, and queer history is slowly starting to appear as a legitimate academic field in line with other academic fields of research also in Norway.
Welcome by Margareth Hagen, Rector at the University of Bergen
CHAIR:
Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Professor of Social Anthropology and Academic Director of the Holberg Prize, University of Bergen
Norway & the queer history context - the Norwegian Queer archive by Tone Hellesund, Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Bergen
The roots of Russian homophobia, and why historical research matters by Dan Healey, Professor of Russian History, University of Oxford
Queer history and neoliberal Islam by Evren Savci, Assistant Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Yale University
Postsocialist homophobia and the lesson of histories past, present, and future by Hadley Z. Renkin, Assistant Professor in Gender Studies, Central European University
Panel discussion: Culture wars and queer history
Participants: Dan Healey, Evren Savci and Hadley Z. Renkin
Chair: Ingunn Lunde, Professor in Russian Language and Culture, University of Bergen
00:00 Welcome by Rector Hagen
05:05 Chair, Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Professor
11:42 Tone Hellesund, Professor
44:55 intro to Dan Healy
46:05 Dan Healey, Professor
01:19:25 intro to Evren Savci
01:20:20 Evren Savci, Assistant Professor
01:48:18 intro to Hadley Z. Renkin
01:49:10 Hadley Z. Renkin, Assistant Professor
02:26:42 Panel discussion: Culture wars and queer history