Rainbow flags will fly - and be projected - across the University and Colleges, and a series of events will be held to mark LGBT+ History Month, which begins today (1 February).
The annual celebration aims to promote equality and diversity by increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, their history, lives and their experiences - and some of those experiences will be featured in exhibitions, talks, and drop-in sessions organised by staff and students at the University.
Professor Andrew Webber, the University's LGBT+ Equality Champion, said: “LGBT+ History Month at Cambridge promises to be an intriguing mix of thoughtful debate and fun, in a variety of settings. From discussions on civil rights to queer crafts, the events taking place offer a unique opportunity to celebrate diversity and advance education on matters affecting the LGBT+ community.”
Some of the events are highlighted below:
Friday, 1 February, 5pm - An Introduction to Queer History - Andrew Lumsden
The Nihon Room, Pembroke College
Delivered by original Gay Liberation Front (GLF) activist and co-founder of Gay News Andrew Lumsden, this talk begins just prior to the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 and works forward to the modern day. The talk will stop off at significant moments in Queer History in this time period, with emphasis on the Labouchere Amendment and on the activities of the GLF in the early 1970s. The talk will end by looking at the modern context, and will allow ample room for questions to be answered by the speaker.
The event is part of the CamQueerHistory series, organised by a group of staff, graduates and undergraduates from departments and Colleges across the University. For more information visit www.camqueerhistory.co.uk.
Saturday, 2 February, 2pm to 4pm - Queer Wellbeing Drop In
The Nihon Room, Pembroke College
Cambridge poet Michael Brown hosts a friendly and social drop-in afternoon of art and poetry activities to promote wellbeing.Try mindfulness colouring in, queer crafts or help write our collective poem. Drop in and stay as little or as long as you want.
Accessible venue with everyone welcome to join us. www.poetbrownie.com @CamQueerHistory
Monday, 4 February - Saturday, 2 March - University Library exhibition
Cambridge University Library
The University Library will mark LGBT+ History Month by flying the rainbow flag on weekdays throughout February and with an exhibition of historic and modern collection items that touch upon different facets of the LGBT+ community over the centuries. The material on display covers a millennium of human thought, from 11th-century Israel to 21st-century Cambridge, and takes in Japanese, French, American, Hispanic and British stories. It is open during normal Library opening hours - all are welcome.
Saturday, 9 February, 11am to 4.30pm - Rainbow Pilgrims Exhibition
South Lecture Room, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge.
Explore the rites and passages of LGBTQI migrants in Britain through this incredible interactive exhibition. Rainbow Pilgrims is a landmark project that discovers the hidden history of LGBTQI migrants in the UK past and present. The project covers the period from the first Jewish Kindertransports to Britain today. One-day exhibition organised in conjunction with Encompass Network, Cambridge City Council and the UCM.
Saturday, 16 February, 10am to 5.30pm - TRASH! Waste and Excess in Queer Cultures
Faculty of English Building, 9 West Road, Cambridge
The Faculty of English hosts 'TRASH! Waste and Excess in Queer Cultures', an interdisciplinary symposium exploring waste and excess in LGBTQ+ life and culture. Featuring contributions by leading scholars of literature, film, art history, and performance, it celebrates queer cultures' remarkable, inventive employment of waste and garbage as artistic materials and trash as a queer aesthetic. The symposium is organised by Dr Diarmuid Hester (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow) and supported by The Leverhulme Trust, Encompass Network, and the University of Cambridge's Faculty of English, LGBTQ+@Cam, and the Public Engagement Starter Fund.
Booking is essential. Get your free ticket
For updates follow @CamQueerTrash
Tuesday, 19 February 2019, 4.30pm to 6pm - Celebrating Difference: A Whole School Approach to LGBT+ Inclusion - Shaun Dellenty
Donald McIntyre Building, Faculty of Education, Hills Road
Shaun Dellenty, a nationally celebrated LGBT inclusion-in-education advocate and educator, has written a ground-breaking book, Celebrating Difference - A Whole School Approach to LGBT+ Inclusion aimed at empowering school leaders, school governors and teachers to facilitate lasting organisational change within their schools. Shaun has adopted a multi-layered approach, bringing awareness of LGBT identities across a variety of media, including social media, blogging, news and television.
Thursday, 21 February, 5.30pm to 6:30pm - Annual LGBT HM Lecture: Trans People: Flashback and Backlash
The McGrath Centre, St Catharine's College
Christine Burns MBE campaigned for a quarter of a century for the civil rights of transgender people and has been involved with the community for more than 40 years.
She is the editor of the recently published book Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows - a comprehensive account of the landmark events which shaped the transgender community over the last five decades.
Book your place at the Annual LGBT HM Lecture
Monday, 25 February, 4.30pm to 6pm - Researching LGBTQ+ Issues: Building Community
Donald McIntyre Building, Faculty of Education, Hills Road
A panel of researchers and associated colleagues discuss the complexities of researching LGBTQ + issues, and the vital role of community building.
- Charlotte Allen (2nd year PhD) – Exploring LGBTQ + students’ resilience in response to commonplace challenges at school: preliminary findings and researcher experiences
- Frank Frangeskou (2nd year MEd) – LGB School Leadership: Breaking the Silence
- Becky Moses (ACE MPhil) – Queer Temporalities, Histories, and Utopias: The Potentialities and Possibilities of a Queer Poetic Practice
- Lucian Stephenson (administrative) – Yet Another Trans 101: Experiences and Frustrations as a Transgender Transgender Educator
- This talk is part of the Arts and Creativities Research Group series. Find out more about the panel talk
Tuesday, 26 February, 2pm to 6pm - Queer(y)ing the Past: An Afternoon of Alternative Archaeology - with wine! Free seminar
Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge
A series of short talks will explore the topic of sexuality and gender in the past. Talks will also address the issues of undertaking field research as LGBTQ+ archaeologists. No registration required.
Keynote: Prof Richard Parkinson, University of Oxford, 'Moments of Identification: LGBTQ+ History and Heritage'.
For information about other LGBT+ History Month events, visitlgbt.cusu.cam.ac.uk/contact-us/
Art, poetry and alternative archeology are among the highlights of LGBT+ History Month at the University and Colleges
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