DOCSLIB.ORG

Community, Conflict, and Queer Potential at the Lesbian Herstory Archives

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Community, Conflict, and Queer Potential at the Lesbian Herstory Archives Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE December 2017 The Ageing of the Archives: Community, Conflict, and Queer Potential at the Lesbian Herstory Archives Rebekah Orr Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Orr, Rebekah, "The Ageing of the Archives: Community, Conflict, and Queer otentialP at the Lesbian Herstory Archives" (2017). Dissertations - ALL. 803. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/803 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT The Lesbian Herstory Archives is the oldest and largest lesbian archives in the world. This dissertation project examines the role of this community archive in building, defining, redefining, and sustaining community over time. More specifically, this dissertation seeks to explore the relationship between queer archives and community through the following research questions: 1. How does the act of archiving produce community? 2. How does a community archive and project of collective memory, rooted in a specific identity, respond to a radically shifting socio-political climate? 3. In what ways does the deployment of community produce boundaries of inclusion and exclusion? Drawing from interviews, participant observation, and archival research, this study explores how the changing Archives community mirrors the shifting socio-political climate of the United States. Special attention is paid to how the rhetoric of community is deployed by the Lesbian Herstory Archives in order to secure needed resources. Research findings suggest that the power of this rhetoric might be diminished over time as lesbian identity has become less salient and increasingly critiqued. Relatedly, this study reveals how, despite the best intentions of the organization’s founders, the rhetoric of community adopted by the Lesbian Herstory Archives has often relied on a falsely homogenizing understanding of community that is based on a universal lesbian identity construction, leading to exclusions based on race, class, and gender identity. Despite this fact, it is argued that this notion of community, while ambiguous and ripe for criticism, can be a powerful tool to mobilize individuals and groups. The Ageing of the Archives: Community, Conflict, and Queer Potential at the Lesbian Herstory Archives by Rebekah Orr B.S., SUNY College at Brockport, 2008 M.A., Syracuse University, 2010 Dissertation Submitted in partial FulFillment oF the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Syracuse University December 2017 © Copyright by Rebekah Orr 2017 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Jackie Orr, a constant source of inspiration for me as we labored and loved this project into being. To my committee members, Dr. Robin Riley, Dr. Margaret Himley, Dr. Roger Hallas, and Dr. Gretchen Purser, your incredible intellect, insight, and support have been such a gift to me- thank you. To RR- thank you for making sure I saw this thing through to the end. There are no words… To my sister from across the world, Dr. Gohar Siddiqui, thank you for the countless read-throughs, and for your unconditional love and support. You mean the world to me. To my wife, Dr. Jenn Billinson, my ride or die, my one true pairing, you are magic. It’s been a pleasure growing up and becoming a Dr. with you. Finally, to my research participants- thank you for sharing your lives and your stories with me. Your generosity of time and your commitment to preserving the lesbian past is truly awe-inspiring. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………...iv TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………….v Chapter One: Theoretical and Substantive Significance……………………………………………………1 Chapter Two: An Ethnography of the Archive………………………………………………………………...42 Chapter Three: The Ageing Archive……………………………………………………………………………….60 Chapter Four: Contested Communities…………………………………………………………………………..95 Chapter Five: At Home With the Archives?..............................................................................................142 Chapter Six: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………174 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………….……………………………….…183 VITA…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..186 v 1 CHAPTER ONE: AN INVITATION In the early morning hours of Monday, November 21, 2011, Linda “Sparky” Mortimer died alone in her bed. Without warning, this beautiful person, so full of life, was gone. Sparky, owner of a local restaurant and community space, Sparkytown, was the backbone of the Syracuse LGBTQ community. She gathered, fed, and united so many different people under one roof. She supported local queer artists and musicians, and she intentionally created a safe space for LGBTQ folks to just be. As long as Sparky was alive, you would always have a place to go, you would get a great big Sparky hug when you got there, and you would leave full of delicious, healthy, comfort food. I was cloistered away in my apartment writing my first comprehensive exam when I received the call that Sparky had passed away. My books and notes on queer archives, ghostly hauntings, and sociological traces surrounded me. I was writing about my own experiences of working with university and community members to create a local LGBTQ archives- a project that Sparky had inspired and supported wholeheartedly. I dropped everything in the midst of a timed written examination to attend a candlelight vigil in Sparky’s honor that night. The following is a short excerpt from my theory exam, written when I returned from the vigil: “I have often reflected upon what constitutes an archive, and I have argued passionately for the inclusion of the invisible, the inaudible, the forgotten, and the ephemeral. Less than 24 hours ago, this became deeply personal for me. My conviction shifted from something I knew, something I had intellectualized, to something that I felt to my core- a different kind of knowing….Throughout the day I wrote and cried, cried and wrote, and I felt. I felt Sparky. Her deep, loud laugh, her great big bear hugs and flirtatious pats on the ass. I felt her campy renditions of old womyn’s music. 2 Here come the lesbians! Here come the leaping lesbians! We’re going to please you, tease you Hypnotize you, try to squeeze you We’re going to get you if we can Here come the lesbians! I felt the warmth she radiated as she greeted each and every person that stepped into her restaurant. I felt her pleasure in feeding us all- body and soul. Sparky had shared hundreds of stories with me; I can tell you what year she came out, how many times she’s been to Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, and the names of some of her favorite nuns who taught her how to peel potatoes as a child. But I never got around to “taking” Sparky’s oral history- I never properly interviewed her. Though she had shown me countless photographs documenting her amazing life and activism, I never collected them in an acid-free box and had her sign a release form. I can’t tell you exactly how many people gathered in front of Sparkytown on Monday night to honor her memory, but I can tell you what the glow of so many candles looks like. I can try to put into words what it felt like to be surrounded by so many others who loved her as much as I did. For those who would advocate for a traditional archive, Linda “Sparky” Mortimer is gone, without a trace. But for those who would advocate an expanded archive, an archive of feeling, an archive of hauntings, an archive of the ephemeral, the work of archiving a spark has only just begun.” The partially burned candle from that vigil, and the program from Sparky’s official memorial service sit on my bookshelf next to a cough drop Sparky gave my wife just days before her passing. These traces share shelf space with Avery Gordon’s Ghostly Matters, Ann Cvetkovich’s An Archive of Feeling, and Jacques Derrida’s Archive Fever. Together, they form the foundation for this dissertation project, and a sort of archive of their very own. In the early months of developing my dissertation research project, I was drawn to the queer archive as a site for knowledge production and dissemination. My emphasis was not on the communities producing and produced by the archives at this time. However, as I worked with Syracuse community members and university faculty to develop a local LGBTQ archives, I could see community itself playing a larger and more central role in the work we were doing. I was introduced, often by Sparky Mortimer, to older gays and 3 lesbians living in the Syracuse area, and I became fascinated by the dynamics of intergenerational exchange taking place. Over time, my interest was drawn away from the archival materials and process, and towards the social subtleties and undercurrents surrounding the project. This local scholarship and activism helped to shape my dissertation project as it exists today. Dissertation Overview This dissertation project seeks to honor lesbian elders and the incredible communities they have built from the ground up, while simultaneously imagining queer potentials for a younger generation that seeks to forge their own paths and claim their own identities. It examines the role
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Conflicts in Appraising Lesbian Pulp Novels Julie Botnick IS 438A
    Pulp Frictions: Conflicts in Appraising Lesbian Pulp Novels Julie Botnick IS 438A: Seminar in Archival Appraisal June 14, 2018 Abstract The years between 1950 and 1965 were the “golden age” of lesbian pulp novels, which provided some of the only representations of lesbians in the mid-20th century. Thousands of these novels sit in plastic sleeves on shelves in special collections around the United States, val- ued for their evocative covers and campy marketing language. Devoid of accompanying docu- mentation which elaborates on the affective relationships lesbians had with these novels in their own time, the pulps are appraised for their value as visual objects rather than their role in peo- ple’s lives. The appraisal decisions made around these pulps are interdependent with irreversible decisions around access, exhibition, and preservation. I propose introducing affect as an appraisal criterion to build equitable collections which reflect full, holistic life experiences. This would do better justice to the women of the past who relied on these books for survival. !1 “Deep within me the joy spread… As my whole being convulsed in ecstasy I could feel Marilyn sharing my miracle.” From These Curious Pleasures by Sloan Britain, 1961 Lesbian pulp novels provided some of the only representations of lesbians in the mid-20th century. Cheaper than a pack of gum, these ephemeral novels were enjoyed in private and passed discreetly around, stuffed under mattresses, or tossed out with the trash. Today, thou- sands of these novels sit in plastic sleeves on shelves in special collections around the United States, valued for their evocative covers and campy marketing language.
    [Show full text]
  • Maryland LGBTQ Historic Context Study Has Roots in an Earlier Project
    Maryland LGBTQ Historic Context Study By Susan Ferentinos, PhD With Benjamin Egerman For Preservation Maryland and Maryland Historical Trust September 30, 2020 Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 2 PARAMETERS OF THIS STUDY ........................................................................................................................................... 4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER TWO: ISSUES TO BE AWARE OF WHEN APPROACHING LGBTQ HISTORIC PRESERVATION..................... 11 CHANGING LANGUAGE AND DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................................................... 13 LACK OF EVIDENCE ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 LACK OF INTEGRITY (OR EVEN SITES) ................................................................................................................................ 19 PRESERVATION OPTIONS BEYOND DESIGNATION ................................................................................................................ 23 PRESERVING SITES OF DIFFICULT HISTORY ........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • " We Are Family?": the Struggle for Same-Sex Spousal Recognition In
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be fmrn any type of computer printer, The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reprodudion. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e-g., maps, drawings, &arb) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to tight in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6' x 9" black and Mite photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustratims appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell 8 Howell Information and Leaning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 "WE ARE FAMILY'?": THE STRUGGLE FOR SAME-SEX SPOUSAL RECOGNITION IN ONTARIO AND THE CONUNDRUM OF "FAMILY" lMichelIe Kelly Owen A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto Copyright by Michelle Kelly Owen 1999 National Library Bibliothiique nationale l*B of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services sewices bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Homophobia in Brazil: Congress and Social (Counter)Mobilization
    The Politics of Homophobia in Brazil: Congress and Social (counter)Mobilization by Robert Tyler Valiquette A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Political Science Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Robert Tyler Valiquette, June, 2017 ABSTRACT THE POLITICS OF HOMOPHOBIA IN BRAZIL: CONGRESS AND SOCAIL (COUNTER)MOBILIZATION Tyler Valiquette Advisor: University of Guelph, 2017 Professor J Díez In recent years, Latin America has seen significant progress in the expansion of LGBT rights such as the implementation of same-sex marriage and the creation of some of the world’s most advanced gender identity laws. Brazil was at the front of this progression and by the early 2000’s, scholars believed Brazil was poised to emerge as Latin America’s gay rights champion. Despite some advancements, the image of Brazil as a gay rights champion is nebulous. The Brazilian Congress has failed in passing federal legislation protecting sexual minorities from violence and discrimination and this thesis seeks to answer why. Qualitative interviews were conducted with LGBT activists, political aides, politicians and Evangelical Pastors. Ultimately this thesis argues that Brazil does not have LGBT anti- discrimination policy because of two factors: 1) a weakening LGBT social movement and 2) a strong countermovement to LGBT rights. iii Acknowledgements Thanks is offered to numerous people upon the completion of this thesis. First, my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Jordi Díez. I first contacted Dr. Díez in 2015 with a simple idea for research. From that moment on, Dr. Díez offered limitless support.
    [Show full text]
  • 13 White Woman Listen! Black Feminism and the Boundaries of Sisterhood
    13 White Woman Listen! Black Feminism and the Boundaries of Sisterhood Hazel V. Carby I'm leaving evidence. And you got to leave evidence too. And your children got to leave evidence.... They burned all the documents.... We got to burn out what they put in our minds, like you burn out a wound. Except we got to keep what we need to bear witness. That scar that's left to bear witness. We got to keep it as visible as our blood. (Jones 1975) The black women's critique of history has not only involved us in coming to terms with "absences"; we have also been outraged by the ways in which it has made us visible, when it has chosen to see us. History has constructed our sexuality and our femininity as deviating from those qualities with which white women, as the prize objects of the Western world, have been endowed. We have also been defined in less than human terms (Jordon 1969). Our continuing struggle with History began with its "discovery" of us. However, this chapter will be concerned with herstory rather than history. We wish to address questions to the feminist theories that have been developed during the last decade; a decade in which black women have been fighting, in the streets, in the schools, through the courts, inside and outside the wage relation. The significance of these struggles ought to inform the writing of the herstory of women in Britain. It is fundamental to the development of a feminist theory and practice that is meaningful for black women.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultivating the Daughters of Bilitis Lesbian Identity, 1955-1975
    “WHAT A GORGEOUS DYKE!”: CULTIVATING THE DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS LESBIAN IDENTITY, 1955-1975 By Mary S. DePeder A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History Middle Tennessee State University December 2018 Thesis Committee: Dr. Susan Myers-Shirk, Chair Dr. Kelly A. Kolar ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I began my master’s program rigidly opposed to writing a thesis. Who in their right mind would put themselves through such insanity, I often wondered when speaking with fellow graduate students pursuing such a goal. I realize now, that to commit to such a task, is to succumb to a wild obsession. After completing the paper assignment for my Historical Research and Writing class, I was in far too deep to ever turn back. In this section, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the following individuals who followed me through this obsession and made sure I came out on the other side. First, I need to thank fellow history graduate student, Ricky Pugh, for his remarkable sleuthing skills in tracking down invaluable issues of The Ladder and Sisters. His assistance saved this project in more ways than I can list. Thank-you to my second reader, Dr. Kelly Kolar, whose sharp humor and unyielding encouragement assisted me not only through this thesis process, but throughout my entire graduate school experience. To Dr. Susan Myers- Shirk, who painstakingly wielded this project from its earliest stage as a paper for her Historical Research and Writing class to the final product it is now, I am eternally grateful.
    [Show full text]
  • The House That Jill Built: a Lesbian Nation in Formation
    THE HOUSE THAT JILL was the co-founding of the lesbian Told in the context of a number of BUILT: A LESBIAN rock band Mama Quilla 11. Indeed, crucial political developments of the many of us suspected that the best time-the bust of the Body Politic for NATION IN part of lesbian organizing was-you publishing the article "Men Loving FORMATION guessed it-the dances. Boys Loving Men," the arrival of anti- Which is to say that we panelists gay activist Anita Bryant to Toronto, Be& L. Ross. Toronto: University got the lesbian-feminist part ofit, but among them-and dropping the of Toronto Press, 1995. the "ism" was far more elusive. names ofpracticallyevery activist who Here's where Becki Ross's new drew a breath inside 342 Jarvis, The book, The House That Jill Built, is House ThatJillBuilt helps to tease out extremely usehl. It will no doubt the differences between political Recently, the Toronto Historical suffer from the no-win situation syn- streams in the '70s while respecting Board was the site of a panel on les- drome that goes with producing a the commitmentandenergy ofwomen bian feminism in the '70s as part of first book on a neglected subject-it who were charting new territory. the Pass It On series of events uncov- cannot be all things to all people. But But don't for a second conhse this ering gay and lesbian history. I and it does grapple with the problem of bookwith history. Activists oftheday two other long-time activists partici- defining lesbian feminism-not as had multiple political affiliations and pated in a spirited discussion that abstract, but as a lived politic.
    [Show full text]
  • MANUFACTURING MORAL PANIC: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights
    MANUFACTURING MORAL PANIC: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights Research Team: Juliana Martínez, PhD; Ángela Duarte, MA; María Juliana Rojas, EdM and MA. Sentiido (Colombia) March 2021 The Elevate Children Funders Group is the leading global network of funders focused exclusively on the wellbeing and rights of children and youth. We focus on the most marginalized and vulnerable to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) is a collaboration of funders and philanthropic advisors working to expand global philanthropic support to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Global1 South and East. TABLE OF CONTENTS Glossary ...................................................................................... 4 Acronyms .................................................................................................. 4 Definitions ................................................................................................. 5 Letter from the Directors: ......................................................... 8 Executive Summary ................................................................... 10 Report Outline ..........................................................................................13 MOBILIZING A GENDER-RESTRICTIVE WORLDVIEW .... 14 The Making of the Contemporary Gender-Restrictive Movement ................................................... 18 Instrumentalizing Cultural Anxieties .........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Butch-Femme by Teresa Theophano
    Butch-Femme by Teresa Theophano Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2004, glbtq, inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com A butch-femme couple The concept of butch and femme identities have long been hotly debated within the participating in a group lesbian community, yet even achieving a consensus as to exactly what the terms wedding ceremony in "butch" and "femme" mean can be extraordinarily difficult. In recent years, these Taiwan. words have come to describe a wide spectrum of individuals and their relationships. It is easiest, then, to begin with an examination of butch-femme culture and meaning from a historical perspective. Butch and femme emerged in the early twentieth century as a set of sexual and emotional identities among lesbians. To give a general but oversimplified idea of what butch-femme entails, one might say that butches exhibit traditionally "masculine" traits while femmes embody "feminine" ones. Although oral histories have demonstrated that butch-femme couples were seen in America as far back as the turn of the twentieth century, and that they were particularly conspicuous in the 1930s, it is the mid-century working-class and bar culture that most clearly illustrate the archetypal butch-femme dynamic. Arguably, during the period of the 1940s through the early 1960s, butches and femmes were easiest to recognize and characterize: butches with their men's clothing, DA haircuts, and suave manners often found their more traditionally styled femme counterparts, wearing dresses, high heels, and makeup, in the gay bars. A highly visible and accepted way of living within the lesbian community, butch-femme was in fact considered the norm among lesbians during the 1950s.
    [Show full text]
  • Emma Domínguez-Rué Universitat De Lleida [email protected]
    TRACES OF HERSTORY: REINVENTING WOMANHOOD IN THE KATE FANSLER MYSTERY SERIES BY AMANDA CROSS Emma Domínguez-Rué Universitat de Lleida [email protected] Although the American writer and Columbia professor Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (1926-2003) is best known for her best-selling mystery novels, published under the pseudonym of Amanda Cross, she also authored remarkable pieces of non-fiction in which she asserted her long-standing commitment to feminism. Taking Heilbrun’s essays in feminism and literary criticism as a basis and her 1990 novel The Players Come Again as substantiation to my argument, this paper will illustrate the ways in which her detective novels became an instrument to reach a mass audience of female readers who might not have read her theoretical work, but who were perhaps finding it difficult to reach fulfillment as women under patriarchy. My aim is to reveal the extent to which Heilbrun’s seemingly more superficial and much more commercial novels were used a catalyst that informed her feminist principles while vindicating the need to repair women’s historical invisibility. Keywords: Amanda Cross, Carolyn Heilbrun, feminism, detective fiction, female readership “As long as women are isolated one from the other, not allowed to offer other women the most personal accounts of their lives, they will not be part of any narrative of their own” (Heilbrun 1988: 46). Although the American writer and Columbia Professor Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (1926-2003) is best known for her best-selling mystery novels, published under the pseudonym of Amanda Cross, she also authored remarkable pieces of non-fiction in which she asserted her long-standing commitment to feminism.
    [Show full text]
  • Degenderettes Protest Artwork Exhibiton Label Text
    Degenderettes Antifa Art Exhibition Label Text Degenderettes Protest Artwork “Tolerance is not a moral absolute; it is a peace treaty.” Yonatan Zunger wrote these words in the weeks leading up to the first Women’s March in 2017. In the same article he suggested that the limits of tolerance could best be illustrated by a Degenderette standing defiantly and without aggression, pride bat in hand. Throughout this exhibit you will see artifacts of that defiance, some more visceral or confrontational than others, but all with the same message. Transgender people exist and we are a part of society’s peace treaty—but we are also counting the bodies (at least seven transgender people have been killed in the United States since the beginning of 2018). We Degenderettes are present at shows of solidarity such as the Trans March, Dyke March, Women’s March, and Pride. We endeavor to provide protection for transgender people at rallies and marches in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. We show up in opposition to people who seek to harm the transgender community—people like Milo Yiannopoulos, whose track record of outing transgender students and doxing immigrants inspired a contingent of Degenderettes to protest his fateful visit to U.C. Berkeley in February 2017. It was in the wake of the confrontation at U.C. Berkeley that shields were identified as weapons by the Berkeley Police Department and banned from all subsequent protests in the city. These guidelines have been adopted throughout the rest of the Bay Area. To us, the shields and everything else in this exhibit are still a type of armor.
    [Show full text]
  • Elizabethirvinephdthesis.Pdf (8.438Mb)
    CONTINUITY IN INTERMITTENT ORGANISATIONS: THE ORGANISING PRACTICES OF FESTIVAL AND COMMUNITY OF A UK FILM FESTIVAL Elizabeth Jean Irvine A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6901 This item is protected by original copyright Continuity in Intermittent Organisations: The Organising Practices of Festival and Community of a UK Film Festival Elizabeth Jean Irvine Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews June 2014 ABSTRACT This thesis considers the relationship between practices, communities and continuity in intermittent organisational arrangements. Cultural festivals are argued to offer one such particularly rich and nuanced research context; within this study their potential to transcend intermittent enactment emerged as a significant avenue of enquiry. The engagement of organisation studies with theories of practice has produced a rich practice-based corpus, diverse in both theoretical concerns and empirical approaches to the study of practice. Nevertheless, continuity presents an, as yet, under- theorised aspect of this field. Thus, the central questions of this thesis concern: the practices that underpin the enactment of festivals; the themes emerging from these practices for further consideration; and relationships between festivals and the wider context within which they are enacted. These issues were explored empirically through a qualitative study of the enactment of a community-centred film festival. Following from the adoption of a ‘practice-lens approach’, this study yielded forty-eight practices, through which to explore five themes emerging from analysis: Safeguarding, Legitimising, Gatekeeping, Connecting and Negotiating Boundaries.
    [Show full text]