Dr. Jacob Kopcienski: "Archives and Community: Remembering Queer Cultural Organizing in Appalachia"
Thursday, March 28, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Talk Location: Schaffel Recital Hall, Broyhill Music Center (BMC 129)
Reception Location: Broyhill Music Center 212
About the Series: This event is part of the Music Humanities Community Conversation Series, which provides a forum for students, faculty, and staff at Appalachian State University and community members to engage current topics in music humanities through invited talks and workshops given by scholars, artists, and cultural leaders from Appalachian State and the surrounding region.
- The events are free and open to the public.
- Attendees may park in the Schaefer Lot, Broyhill Lot, or Peacock Lot for free from 7:00pm to the end of the event. The Broyhill Music Center is at 813 Rivers St, Boone, NC, 28608.
- For more information, contact Dr. Jacob Kopcienski, via email at kopcienskija@appstate.edu or by phone at 828-262-7385.
- This event is sponsored by the Hayes School of Music with generous co-sponsorship from the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University.
Lecture Topic
Archives and Community: Remembering Queer Cultural Organizing in Appalachia
In this presentation we will explore the relationship between LGBTQ music, performance, and organizing Appalachia during the 1980s and 1990s.Using archival materials and oral histories, we will learn how Feminist, Lesbian/Gay, and Trans* organizers and artists in West Virginia curated concert series and performances to build local social connection and communities.
We will focus on how organizers used community publications (newsletters and calendars) as tools in cultural organizing, and to mobilize communities for local activist/mutual aid projects and regional/national political movements. Attendees will be invited to discuss how community-engaged research techniques can connect archival materials to present-day LGBTQ performance, community building, organizing, and activism in Western North Carolina and Appalachia.
Biography
Dr. Jacob Kopcienski (He/They) is an assistant professor in Musicology in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. Their current research uses ethnography, archives, and media analysis to explore the relationship between LGBTQ performance, community care, and activist networks in Appalachia and the Midwest from the 1970s to the present. A multifaceted scholar, Jacob is passionate about creating spaces for interdisciplinary arts and humanities and collaboration through teaching and community-engaged projects.