'On the Entanglements of Queer Memory and History: The Case of Alan Turing' Event

For LGBT and queer-identified people aware of Alan Turing's sexuality, his arrest in 1952 on charges of "gross indecency" and his barbaric punishment (chemical castration in lieu of prison), the spaces of commemoration take on added resonance, an encounter with the past which historians associate with memory.  Not individual memory, but collective memory, the social phenomenon or cultural dimension of what groups remember.  In this lecture Professor Laura Doan will use Turing, recently pardoned by the British government, as a case study to prise memory, time and history apart, while also leaving them intertwined and messy.

The Southampton Stonewall Lecture is an annual lecture at the University of Southampton devoted to the history of homosexuality or LGBT history. The purpose of the lecture is to educate the present about the past; to showcase thinking and research about LGBT history; and to enhance the University of Southampton's remit of promoting sexual diversity in the regional community.

The inaugural Stonewall Lecture was given in March 2012 by Angela Mason CBE, former executive director of the Stonewall charity. Her lecture, drawing a large audience, was entitled: ‘Twenty-Five Years On: The Fight for LGBT Rights in the UK' . Last years lecture 'Gay Culture in Postwar New York: Community Creation and Conflict' was given by Professor George Chauncey (Yale).  You will find video and interview re the lectures by following the links above.

There will be a charity collection for Stonewall at the end of the lecture.