Celebrating Rainbow History Month
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.
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 November 8.
For queries, please contact tuula.juvonen@utu.fi
The colloquium is organized jointly by Turku Institute for Advanced Studies and School of History, Culture and Arts Studies, with its Gender Studies Programme.
Programme
Pub3, Publicum, Assistentinkatu 7, University of Turku
14.15–15.15
Supporting Identity Development: The Critical Role of Educators
Clinical Professor Emeritus Nancy Commins, University of Colorado at Denver and Senior Fellow, University of Turku
In collaboration with DivEd project at the Department of Teacher Education
Turku Public Library, Studio, Linnankatu 2
18.00–19.30
Mitä kummaa? Sukupuolen ja seksuaalisuuden moninaisuuden sisällyttäminen kouluopetukseen
A public lecture by Collegium Researcher Tuula Juvonen, University of Turku
Tempo (E211), Minerva, Kaivokatu 12, University of Turku
10.00–10.15 Welcome addresses
Professor Martin Cloonan, Director of TIAS, University of Turku
Dr. Tuula Juvonen, TIAS & Gender Studies, University of Turku
10.15–12.00 Queer pedagogies and arts education
Associate Professor Therese Quinn, University of Illinois at Chicago
12.00–13.30 Lunch
13.30–15.30 Questions about museums and social justice to explore
in the classroom
Associate Professor Therese Quinn, University of Illinois at Chicago
15.30–16.00 Coffee
16.00–18.00 Using museums to teach about LGBTQ people’s lives
and contributions
Associate Professor Therese Quinn, University of Illinois at Chicago,
and participants
Tempo (E211), Minerva, Kaivokatu 12, University of Turku
10.00–11.00 Queering the Finnish past. The case of Sateenkaarihistoriakuukausi
Dr. Rita Paqvalén, Executive Director at Culture for All
11.00–12.00 Gender and sexual diversity. A challenge for teaching and schools
Dr. Jukka Lehtonen, Senior researcher, WeAll project, Gender Studies,
University of Helsinki
12.00–13.30 Lunch
13.30–14.30 SepäSe-workshop model in upper comprehensive schools in Tampere
Outi Santavuori, Sinuiksi support and counselling services, SETA
Pirkanmaa
14.30–15.30 Addressing queer past and present in teacher training
Dr. Jan Löfström, Associate Professor in Social Studies Education,
Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku
15.30–16.30 Queering art museum pedagogy: Intersecting Queer and Crip in
Finnish Museum of Photography
Aapo Raudaskoski and Jemina Lindholm,
Aalto University/Finnish Museum of Photography
16:30–17:00 Observations, commentary and discussion
Associate Professor Therese Quinn, University of Illinois at Chicago,
and participants
Room 126, Publicum, Assistentinkatu 7, University of Turku
14.15–16.00
The Politics of Hate: Education & Strategies of Exclusion
Professor Angelia Wilson, University of Manchester
In collaboration with The John Morton Center for North American Studies
Recommended literature
- Block, Corrie (2019) Educator affect. LGBTQ+ in social studies curriculum. Critical Questions in Education, 11(1), 1–16.
- Kjaran, Jón Ingvar & Lehtonen, Jukka (2017) Windows of opportunities: Nordic perspectives on sexual diversity in education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2017.1414319
- Lehtonen, Jukka (2017) Troubling normativities? Constructing sexual and gender diversity in the educational work of Finnish LGBTI human rights association Seta. In Vaahtera, Touko, Niemi, Anna-Maija, Lappalainen, Sirpa & Beach, Dennis (eds.) Troubling educational cultures in the Nordic countries. London: The Tufnell Press, 117-139.
- Maguth, Brad & Taylor, Nathan (2014) Bringing LGBTQ+ topics into the social studies classroom. The Social Studies, 105(1), 23–28.
- Paasonen, Susanna & Spišák, Sanna (2018) Malleable identities, leaky taxonomies: The matter of sexual flexibility. Sexualities 21:8, 1374–1378. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1363460718779798
- Quinn, Therese & Meiners, Erica. Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall: Moving beyond equality. In Butler-Wall, A., Cosier, K., Harper, R., Sapp, J., Sokolower, J., & Tempel, M. (Eds.) Rethinking sexism, gender and sexuality. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools , 27–38. Available as an e-book through EBESCO.
- Suominen, Anniina & Pusa, Tiina (eds) (2018) Feminism and Queer in Art Education. Aalto University publication series ART + DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE, 7/2018. Available at https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/34087
- Taavetti, Riikka (2018) Queer Politics of Memory: Undisciplined Sexualities as Glimpses and Fragments in Finnish and Estonian Pasts. Publications of the Faculty of Social Sciences 87. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. Available at http://hdl.handle.net/10138/244517