Queer Geographies: Mapping Landscapes of Identity in Raleigh, North Carolina

Abstract

The impetus for Queer Geographies came from the acknowledgment that queer materiality is often lacking, erased, and made invisible within the historical and archaeological record. This reality was confirmed after contacting the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology to inquire about any materials they held pertaining to queer persons or queer historical events in Raleigh, North Carolina, and being informed that no such collections existed. Of course, a lack of preserved history does not imply that such histories don't exist. Instead, it requires that different, non-traditional methods of visualizing identity and commemorating histories be employed. One way is through a subversive reading of historic geographies and cultural landscapes.