Queer Pasts Call for Project Proposals

Queer Pasts is a new digital history project housed on the ProQuest platform. Following our launch in fall 2021, there are six projects currently available via library subscription. We are now seeking proposals for new document projects.

As a project editor, you would be responsible for curating an exhibit consisting of 20-40 primary source documents and authoring an introductory essay (5000-10000 words). We will provide guidance about copyright, permissions, formatting, and scanning. The publication process will involve a short project proposal, review by the project coeditors, submission of completed work, scholarly peer-review, revisions if needed, final submission, and final review. Upon completion, contributors will receive a $1000 honorarium.

The database seeks to broaden the field of queer history; we therefore prioritize projects that focus on the experiences and perspectives of under-represented historical groups, including people of color, trans people, and people with disabilities. We are currently especially interested in projects focused on disability, indigenous, and/or African American histories. We ask as well that our guest editors consider questions about the strengths, limitations, and characteristics of their archive and explore the ways in which archives are constructed, constrained, and contested. At present, we are limiting ourselves to North American history, but this may change in the future.

Proposals for new documents projects should be submitted to the database co-editors for review. The proposal should include the following:

• a proposed list of primary documents (generally 20-40), including title, length, citation, and source.
• copyright/permissions proposal for all primary documents indicating how the project editor(s) will obtain publication authorization
• 2-page (single-spaced) project description (500-600 words)
• CV, resume, or short bio

We recommend that you share preliminary ideas with us via email; we may suggest a Zoom session to discuss your ideas. We will accept proposals on an ongoing basis.

Contact Lisa Arellano (arellanolisaa@gmail.com) or Marc Stein (marcs@sfsu.edu) for further information about Queer Pasts or to submit a project proposal. A video with additional information about the project can be found here.