"We Demand": History/Sex/Activism Conference

"We Demand": History/Sex/Activism In Canada Vancouver, British Columbia
August 25-28, 2011

On August 28, 1971 over two hundred lesbian and gay activists gathered on Parliament Hill to demand the federal government bring an end to laws and practices that criminalized, marginalized, and stigmatized lesbians and gays. Acting in solidarity with their central Canadian allies, Vancouver activists staged the same action on the steps of their city's Court House. It was the first recorded national political action undertaken by gay liberationists and lesbian feminist activists in Canada.

"We Demand" marks the fortieth anniversary of the 1971 action. The conference seeks to showcase current work on all aspects of the history of sexuality in Canada, from pre-contact to present times.

Keynote speaker: Ann Cvetcovitch, author of An Archive of Feelings: Trauma, Sexuality, and Lesbian Public Cultures

Other confirmed speakers include Mary Louise Adams, Karen Dubinsky, Gary Kinsman, and Steven Maynard.

We are currently accepting proposals for panels, individual papers, roundtable discussions, poster sessions, and other means of communicating ideas and generating discussion. We welcome submissions from scholars, archivists, educators, public historians, and past and present political activists from all sexual fronts.

Panel and round table submissions should include a session title, a brief description of the panel or round table, abstracts for each paper of no more than 250 words, and a brief biography or one-page c.v./resume for each presenter and for the session chair. Individuals should submit a 250-word abstract plus a brief biography or one-page c.v./resume. Those submitting proposals for other types of presentations should contact the organizers for further instruction.

The deadline for submission is 1 June 2010.

Please send queries and submissions to: wedemand2011@gmail.com

Conference organizers:
Elise Chenier
Department of History, Simon Fraser University
echenier@gmail.com

Patrizia Gentile
Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's and Gender Studies Carleton University
patrizia_gentile@carleton.ca

Categories: conferences