Queer Fictions of the Past
History, Culture, and Difference

This book explores the role of history and literature in gay and lesbian identity, and in queer theory.

Scott Bravmann (Author)

9780521599078, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 October 1997

192 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1 cm, 0.27 kg

"...[Bravmann] demonstrates not only how the past has been rewritten in terms of present-day concerns, but also how these revisions of the past have altered people's perceptions of the present." Chad Heap, Journal of Social History

In Queer Fictions of the Past, Scott Bravmann explores the complexity of lesbian and gay engagement with history and considers how historical discourses animate the present. Characterising historical representations as dynamic conversations between then and now, he demonstrates their powerful role in constructing present identities, differences, politics, and communities. In particular, his is the first book to explore the ways in which lesbians and gay men have used history to define themselves as social, cultural, and political subjects.

Part I. Queer Cultural Studies of History: 1. Metanarrative and gay identity
2. Queer historical subjects
Part II. Reading Past Histories: 3. Re: reading queer history
4. The lesbian and gay past: it's Greek to whom?
5. Queer fictions of Stonewall
6. Re/writing queer histories
Part III. Conclusions: 7. Queer fictions for the future.

Subject Areas: Gay & Lesbian studies [JFSK]