Archives and Special Collections, University of Melbourne

Spotlight On: Queer provenance in archives

Join archivist Morgan Flack, along with Queer Archive specialist Dr Elliot Freeman, as they discuss the possibilities created by re-describing archival collections.

Info Sessions

Event Details

Category

Info Sessions

Event Starts

Oct 15, 2026 12:30

Event Ends

Oct 15, 2026 13:30

Venue

Leigh Scott Room

Location

Level 1, Baillieu Library

In this Spotlight program archivist Morgan Flack, along with Queer Archive specialist Dr Elliot Freeman, will highlight the possibilities created by re-describing archival collections and the impact that social politics, stigma and law had on queer lives that are ambiguous on the record. Within the UMA repository sit six boxes of records documenting the life of June Barnett, her diplomatic career, testimony as witness at the 1954 Royal Commission on Espionage along with records detailing her personal life including hundreds of photos, travel documents and correspondence. In this session, Barnett’s archive will be considered through a lens of queer curiosity and contemporary archival practices including how records are now being re-interpreted or re-described for students, scholars and other audiences. Join us for this talk and conversation and discover the current state of community-led archiving and considerations for building future queer archives.

This program is presented by Archives and Special Collections at the University of Melbourne.

For more information click here