Mapping Queer Terrains: Telling Stories from the Local to the Global

Join panelists Alan Bell, Andy Rutkowski, and Cynthia Wang  for an engaging conversation moderated by Joseph Hawkins focused on LGBTQ communities and the role that space, place, and location has on individual and collective lived experiences. The panelists will discuss how telling stories that emphasize place begin to bridge the gap between analog and digital environments, historical and current collections, and local and global communities.

While the advent of digital media has transformed the ways we make connections between people, places, and collections, the material ephemera grounds stories in physical place. Organization, activism, and the exchange of knowledge between LGBTQ communities and individuals now happens at greater speeds and across greater distances, allowing people to participate and engage with each other on unprecedented levels. This rapid expansion highlights how the everyday practices of local communities are necessary to make sense of these broader cultural shifts.

Because of the perpetual invisibility of queer communities, storytelling empowers individuals to participate in larger, interconnected conversations, revealing hidden histories and neglected narratives. Queer stories are everywhere. By mapping them out across space and time, we are able to better understand how they connect local cultures to a growing global community.

Join us for the conversation and stay to interact with and add your stories to the existing digital mapping projects!