A colloquium at the University of Turku, Monday to Thursday 11.–14.11.2019.
The Rainbow History Month was organized in Finland for the first time in 2018. Unlike in many other countries, in Finland the LGBTQI history month has not yet been taken to the schools, from where it originated in the U.S. in 1994. One possible reason might be that in Finland the pedagogies for addressing sexual and gender diversity have not been in the focus when educating future teachers. To overcome some of the obstacles for addressing LGBTQ histories and related themes in Finnish schools and memory institutions, this colloquium Celebrating Rainbow History Month focuses on the different ways in which queer history and lives can be integrated into the classroom and other sites of learning.
During the introductory day on Monday, we hear two public lectures. Professor Emeritus Nancy Commins, University of Colorado at Denver, talks about the ways in which teachers can support the identity development of their students, and Collegium Researcher Tuula Juvonen, University of Turku, reasons why it makes sense to include diversity of sexuality and gender in the school curriculum.
On Tuesday, we start the two-day workshop Queer pedagogies of the Rainbow History Month with lectures held by Associate Professor Therese Quinn, Director of Museum and Exhibition Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to the lectures, there will be group work where we seek to translate those inspiring ideas into Finnish context.
The third day, Wednesday, the workshop continues with presentations of various Finnish experts. They share their insights and experiences about the ways in which knowledge about both historical and contemporary sexual and gender diversity can be integrated in the education provided in the schools and other didactic settings.
In addition, Professor Angelia Wilson, University of Manchester, will hold a public lecture on Thursday on the dynamics of the politics of hate. It lays out the predicaments of the political climate surrounding any pedagogical endeavors that seek to address gender and sexual diversity. For a detailed program, please see https://www.utu.fi/en/research/research-collegia/tias/events/celebrating-rainbow-history-month
We invite those teachers, educators and students who are interested in learning about didactic tools that they can put in practice in their professional lives to join the two-day workshop and the accompanying public lectures. The working language of all the events is English, except of Tuula Juvonen’s public lecture.
The participation is free for the public lectures, the fee for the workshop is 20 €/day, including lunch and coffee (yet free for students, no lunch included).
Please register (also as a student) for the workshop at https://konsta.utu.fi/Default.aspx?tabid=88&tap=7849 by October 29.
The colloquium is organized jointly by Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and School of History, Culture and Arts Studies, with its Gender Studies Programme.