Queer collective memory during the time of COVID: Timelessness,isolation,and resilience in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Oral history collections both rely on and preserve community memories, and are of importance for understanding marginalized communities, particularly when they privilege minority voices. This article draws from original, video-based oral histories conducted for the United Kingdom’s national LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and others) museum, Queer Britain, focusing on an ongoing collection of oral histories organized around experiences related to the COVID pandemic. In order to protect the health of those interviewed and the interviewers, the researchers used virtual meeting software to record video interviews and utilized qualitative software to expand and support interview analysis. Specific oral history methodologies and concepts are explored, and museum studies content is briefly discussed, specifically as it relates to museums of marginalized people. Themes explored include isolation and timelessness, the impact of the pandemic on diverse LGBTQ+ communities, and HIV/AIDS.

Keywords

collective memory COVID HIV/AIDS isolation LGBTQ museum oral history pandemic queer timelessness visual sociology

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