‘Before Mardi Gras: Gay+ in the 1970s’, 2019 ALGA History Conference CFP

Friday 15 and Saturday 16 November 2019, Australian National University, Canberra

The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives is pleased to announce that our next history conference will be held in Canberra in November 2019, supported by the ACT Government Office for LGBTIQ Affairs and the ANU School of History.

This year’s conference takes place shortly after the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Homosexual Law Reform Society of the ACT, the first organisation to campaign for homosexual rights in Australia. 2019-2020 also sees the anniversaries of the Daughters of Bilitis/Australasian Lesbian Movement (Melbourne, January 1970) and the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (Sydney, mid-1970).

We are now seeking offers of papers in the broad field of the history of sexuality, sex and gender with a focus on LGBTIQ+ life in Australia. Papers that take a historical perspective are particularly welcome, although sociological, discursive, legal, cultural and other approaches are invited. In recognition of these significant anniversaries, the conference is keen to receive offers relating to gay+ life, politics and culture in Australia in the decade before Mardi Gras. But we are open to offers on any aspect of Australia’s rich history of sexuality, sex and gender experience.

The HomoHistories conference has been held annually since 2000 and brings together a diverse range of academics, professional and independent scholars, students, activists and community organisers and we hope to see that diversity repeated in 2019.

Abstracts for papers should be approximately 100 words and must be received by 1 June 2019.  Accepted papers must adhere to a twenty-minute time limit. Abstracts, questions and queries should be addressed initially to Graham Willett at ahh2019@alga.org.au