Fag Rag and Gay Radicalism in the 1970s
In the late 1960s and 1970s the radical gay press publications in the United States pushed the boundaries of acceptable journalism. Writing about controversial topics such as the age of consent, incest, bestiality and prostitution, the radical gay press not only horrified heterosexual society, but also alienated vast sections of the gay community.
Continue ReadingSurviving a Long-Distance Research Project
In SHAW’s second post in their series, Charlie Jeffries shares her experiences of embarking upon a PhD about the US in the UK and gives practical tips for others thinking of doing likewise.
Continue ReadingMy Archival Adventure as an Academic Researcher across the Atlantic
When I began my PhD in January 2013, I knew that a significant part of my research requires archival materials that are mostly based in the USA, in particular the renowned Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. I will not lie; the opportunity to do archival work in the States and at Yale University was not only exciting and inspiring but also unbelievably unreal.
Continue ReadingResearch Across Borders: Charlie Thompson, AHRC Library of Congress Fellow 2014
“As I flew out of Heathrow last October, I had tickets booked to fly home for two weeks to see my family over Christmas and New Year. By December, I had cancelled those tickets. I had met people I wanted to stay with in DC, had research I wanted to continue doing, and had made plans for events and things I wanted to see and do in and around Washington.”
Continue ReadingReport on the BrANCA Reading Group Session ‘Archival Pleasures’
“Following Garvey’s article, the group spent quite a while discussing the importance of the physical versus digital archive in regards to Carrie Hyde and Joseph Rezak’s piece, ‘The Aesthetics of Archival Evidence’ (J19, Spring 2014). They raise the importance of understanding the ‘aesthetics of the archive’, the need to encounter the ‘heft’ of physical material. In the group we asked does distance matter? Do we need to be able to touch and hold manuscript and original books if it is digitally available? There seems to be a ‘resonating aura’ from material text, a sensual need to have contact with the physical archive for some scholars. This sensual turn in literary studies is the last spatial turn, towards ourselves.”
Continue Reading