LGBT Geography at the AAG Annual Meeting
by Carla Barrett
Every year, the AAG (Association of American Geographers) hosts an Annual Meeting to showcase the latest research in Geography, sustainability and GIS. This year the Annual Meeting is taking place in Tampa, Florida, from 8th to 12th April.
A number of sessions focus on LGBT people and spaces, including Trans* Geographies, Queer of Colour Geographies, and Challenging Hetero/Homonormativities in Homespaces.
In addition, Dr Lynda Johnston (University of Waikato) will give a paper on intersex bodies and geographies of prejudice; Dr Eleanor Wilkinson (University of Leeds) will present her research on queer temporalities and the politics of non-reproduction; and Dr Nathaniel Lewis (University of Nottingham) will give a paper on migration and wellbeing in the gay life course.
I will be tweeting from the conference so follow @SotonLGBT and @CarlaGeog on Twitter for updates.
Homomonument Amsterdam
by Carla Barrett
As part of the BA Geography programme at the University of Southampton, second year students spend 5 days completing fieldwork and developing their research methods in either Amsterdam or Paris. I recently returned from teaching on this year’s fieldtrip in Amsterdam.
One of the key themes of the fieldtrip is memorialisation and we encourage the students to visit a number of sites including Anne Frank House in order to research the processes of memorialisation and place-making. One of the memorials that I personally visited was the Homomonument. The monument, which was first unveiled in September 1987, is located a short walk from Anne Frank House on the Westermarkt. The monument was constructed with the intention of not only commemorating the homosexuals who were persecuted during World War II, but to commemorate all LGBT people who face or have faced discrimination and oppression.
Designed by Karin Daan, the monument is composed of three smaller triangles contained within a larger triangle. As such, the design draws on or reappropriates the pink triangle sign used to identify homosexuals during World War II. One of the smaller triangles of the monument extends into the canal, and I feel that this is the focal point. It stands out, helping to shape the canal just as the LGBT people it commemorates help to shape the city of Amsterdam and world beyond.
More information is available here.
Sexuality, Asylum, Evidence and Existence
by Carla Barrett
Claire Bennett (ESRC Centre for Population Change) is giving a talk entitled ‘Sexuality, Asylum, Evidence and Existence’ at the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research on Tuesday 11th March at 2pm. This is part of the Families and Social Capital Research Group Seminar Series at LSBU. Claire’s seminar will draw upon her PhD research on lesbian asylum seekers.
The seminar is free and open to all. To RSVP please email gilliev@lsbu.ac.uk, or for more information click here to download a flyer.
The Unfinished Battle for LGBT Human Rights in the UK
by Carla Barrett
In 1999, Britain had the largest number of anti-gay laws of any country in the world. Indeed, the criminalisation of homosexuality only finally ended in 2003. In just over a decade, we have made huge advances towards LGBT equality.
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner and Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, will be giving the 4th annual Human Rights Lecture at the University of Southampton on 1st May 2014.
This event is hosted by Humanities, Business & Law and Amnesty International. For more information, including how to register for this event, please click here or contact Tracy Storey at tps@southampton.ac.uk.