S. Bouamer, D. M. Provencher, R. K. Schroth (dir), Queer Realms of Memory. Archiving LGBTQ Sites and Symbols in the French National Narrative
Pierre Nora’s concept “lieux de mémoire” (realms of memory) has become arguably the most significant academic point of reference when discussing processes of nation-building and their interconnectedness with history and collective memory. Although his theory has acquired popularity well beyond its application to the French context, his influential seven-volume series (1984-1992) is not without its own shortcomings and failures, which have only occasionally been exposed over the last two decades. It is not until the recent publication of Postcolonial Realms of Memory (Liverpool, 2020) that we see an expansive critique of Nora’s own selective memory.
Our project seeks to continue challenging Nora’s approach and France’s national narrative by providing space to examine queer lives, cultures and memories. We contend however that those related to queer experiences within France’s collective memory have almost never been addressed. Queer Realms of Memory is the first book-length study to question Nora’s lack of engagement with queer French and Francophone cultures and histories.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Queering lieux de mémoire. Institutions and Monuments – Siham Bouamer, Denis M. Provencher, and Ryan K. Schroth
Presenting the present: queer memories beyond same-sex marriage – Bruno Perreau
Queer memory takes a monumental turn: commemorating Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot – Stephen Shapiro
The monument and the anti-monument: aesthetic strategies for remembering two crises from French LGBTQ history – Scott Gunther
Queer experiences in Parisian collèges between 1869 and 1873– Michael Rosenfeld and Clive Thomson
Archiving queer France: constructing a community at the intersection of history and memory – Andrew Israel Ross
Centers and Peripheries. Paris, erotic capital of the nineteenth century: the tournée des grands-ducs and the emergence of queer lieux de mémoire during the Third Republic – Leslie Choquette
From the Marais to collective memory: how to map queer France – Kory Olson
Carving out space in the city: LGBTQ+ pride as a queer lieu de mémoire – Luke L. Eilderts
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