[csaa-forum] Dennis Altman public lecture and associated events at UOW: 4 April, 5 April

Vera Mackie vera at uow.edu.au
Tue Mar 26 09:42:15 CST 2013


Public Lecture Hosted by the UOW Ally Network, Employment Equity and
Diversity Unit, University of Wollongong

Thursday April 4th
5.30 p.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Lecture Theatre 20.2
University of Wollongong

>From Denial to Celebration: Forty Years of Gay Liberation

Professor Dennis Altman (La Trobe University)

During the 1970s, when Australia saw the first public affirmations by
gay men and women, homosexuality was regarded with deep suspicion, as
a vice, a crime or, at best, an illness. Sexual behaviour between men
was illegal in all states, and very few women or men publically
acknowledged their homosexuality. Even if the anti-sodomy laws were
rarely applied, police harassment and entrapment, and fear of
disclosure to families and employers, maintained a low level reign of
terror sufficient for most homosexuals to spend considerable effort in
developing their lives around subterfuge and evasion. The current
world, in which there are openly gay politicians, judges and, even,
the occasional sports star was literally inconceivable. The last
decade, in particular, has seen extraordinary strides towards the
normalisation of homosexuality across the western world. Legal
protection exists in most jurisdictions against discrimination based
upon ‘sexual orientation’, and same sex partner!ships are increasingly
acknowledged by civil (if not religious) institutions. Openly
homosexual politicians are increasingly evident, and there is a
significant “pink vote”, which is courted during elections. In 2012
the highest rating television channel in Australia, Channel Nine,
resuscitated the reality show Big Brother whose winner was openly gay,
and then proposed to his partner on live television. At the same time
persecution and discrimination on grounds of sexuality appears to be
increasing in many parts of the world, and homosexuality is becoming a
polarising issue in international politics.

**************************

In association with Professor Dennis Altman's visit to the University
of Wollongong, the Forum on Human Rights Research will host a
Roundtable on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights.
All welcome, but please notify us of your attendance for catering
requirements: Contact Vera Mackie <vera at uow.edu.au>.

Roundtable on Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights

Friday 5 April 2013 12:30 ~ 4:00 p.m.

25.163 (Creative Arts Building, University of Wollongong)

Speakers will be Kath Albury (UNSW), Kane Race (Sydney), Mark
McLelland (UOW), Michael Flood (UOW), Tanja Dreher (UOW) and Nan
Seuffert (UOW), moderated by Vera Mackie (UOW) and Nicola Marks (UOW),
with a response by Dennis Altman (La Trobe).

**************************
Professor Altman’s visit is co-sponsored by the Ally Network,
Employment Equity and Diversity Unit, the Forum on Human Rights
Research (FoHRR), the Institute for Social Transformation Research
(ISTR) and the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication in
the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts at the University of
Wollongong.
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