Queering the Heteronormal: Memorial Practices in the Historic Cemeteries of Erie County, Pennsylvania
Author(s): Lisa A Iadanza; Mary Ann Owoc
Year: 2017
Summary
This project determined, using a Queer Theory approach, to what extent burial pattern, grave marker, and accompanying text and images reflected and reproduced presumed dominant heteronormative ideologies. Grave marker styles and text have highlighted the constant change in familial ideologies from the colonial period to the present. Burial and marker attributes from over 4,000 adults in cemeteries in Erie County, PA between 1880-2015 were recorded and examined. The results indicate that the heteronormative has competed with other ideologies over time and, that different attribute categories uphold the heteronormative at different times and to different extents. After 1980 it appears that individuals have sought to make multiple statements about personhood beyond the heteronormative. This study presents a challenge, via material cultural analysis, to the long held belief in the exclusive dominance of a heteronormative in America, and expands Queer Theory discourse beyond LGBTQ critiques.
Cite this Record
Queering the Heteronormal: Memorial Practices in the Historic Cemeteries of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Lisa A Iadanza, Mary Ann Owoc. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435447)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Familial Ideology
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Grave Marker
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Historic Cemeteries
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Historic
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 435