We have always been here: Reflecting on the queer self through the Smith College special collections archive

Presenter's Name(s)

Robin Olsen

Abstract

The notion of progress necessitates a taboo past—something to advance and move away from. This practice is harmful; refusing to engage with our past restricts the imagination, alienating the self to a specific time, disacknowledging the wider context of which we live, including all that has come before us. Utilizing artifacts handled at the Smith College Special Collections archive, I reflect on what it means to be queer, trans, a person of color, and a Vermonter. I showcase how, paradoxically, the past opens up new possibilities for the future and expands our understandings of all that we can be.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Thomas Delaney

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Arts and Sciences

Program/Major

Political Science

Primary Research Category

Social Science

Abstract only.

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We have always been here: Reflecting on the queer self through the Smith College special collections archive

The notion of progress necessitates a taboo past—something to advance and move away from. This practice is harmful; refusing to engage with our past restricts the imagination, alienating the self to a specific time, disacknowledging the wider context of which we live, including all that has come before us. Utilizing artifacts handled at the Smith College Special Collections archive, I reflect on what it means to be queer, trans, a person of color, and a Vermonter. I showcase how, paradoxically, the past opens up new possibilities for the future and expands our understandings of all that we can be.