Monumentally Queer: Remembering LGBTQ+ Past, Present & Futures

Summary

Monuments function as archives of histories allowing us to remember and keep alive past events, stories, and loss, but only recently are LGBTQ+ histories being honored in public landscapes. For many communities, place and identity are entangled realities. For LGBTQ+ communities, having physical sites of remembrance that echo histories into the landscape is incredibly important. Such sites help individuals connect with their own identity, reinforce a sense of belonging, and proudly acknowledge that LGBTQ+ people have always existed here.

How do LGBTQ+ communities remember, honor and share their histories? What role do places and landscapes play in remembering LGBTQ+ history? Through case studies of place-based and living memorials such as Stonewall National Monument, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument, the session will examine how we currently memorialize LGBTQ+ history and how to queerly and radically remember and honor the LGBTQ+ struggles, resistances and victories into the future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow