Coming Into a Queer Curriculum: Lessons From Intergenerational LGBTQ+ Dialogues

• In Event: (Re)Tracing the Contours of Educational Possibility and Imagination

Abstract

In this paper, we offer an exploration of a LGBTQ+ community-engaged educational adventure started in 2019. The project sought to counter the persistent lack of intergenerational contact within LGBTQ+ communities and be responsive to the insights from educational and gerontological research. Such research consistently illustrates challenges facing LGBTQ+ young people and elders. Over five years, the project has developed to showcase the pedagogical potential of learning LGBTQ+ history through a queer curriculum that connects the classroom with the community center. The purpose of this paper is to explore a range of lessons that have emerged over five years of the project, showing ways research can aid in remedying and repairing the harms that exist within education.

Authors

• Adam Joseph Greteman, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

• Nic M. Weststrate, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Karen Morris, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

• Lisa Moore, University of Chicago