The University of Nottingham is celebrating LGBT History Month with a series of events celebrating its LGBT staff and research.
Film screenings, music and poetry readings, panel discussions and public lectures will explore the diverse aspects of LGBT culture and history — from local musicians and poets to debates on the public image of bisexuality and the participation of trans people in sport, at a grassroots, national and international level.
Key events throughout the month include:
· Call Me Kuchu screening, New Art Exchange, Thursday 12 February
A screening of the documentary Call Me Kuchu, which examines the lives of LGBT men and women — ‘kuchus’ — in Uganda, in the shadow of the country’s strict anti-homosexuality laws.
A talk by Bisi Alimi — Nigerian gay rights activist and HIV/LGBT advocate — follows the screening. Bisi was the first man to publicly come out as gay on Nigerian TV. He now lives in London
· Read Hear, Nottingham Central Library, Saturday 21 February
LGBT musicians and poets will give short performances at Nottingham Central Library at this free event aimed at the whole family.
· Bambi screening, Nottingham Lakeside Arts, Monday 16 February
UoN history academics Dr Karen Adler and Dr Onni Gust introduce and discuss a screening of the documentary Bambi. The film profiles Marie-Pierre Pruvot, an Algerian-born trans woman who had a long career as a dancer and showgirl in Paris in the 1950s and 60s.
· The Enigma Problem: Alan Turing and the British Establishment, Jubilee Campus, Wednesday 25 February
Dr Max Biddulph, Chair of the LGBTQ Staff Network and Associate Professor in the School of Education, and Professor David Brailsford of the School of Computer Science examine the life and work of Alan Turing in this public lecture.
The full events programme is available on the University’s LGBT History Month blog, which will be updated regularly throughout February with more detail about events, and blog posts from staff whose research touches LGBT culture, history, politics and health.
The majority of events taking place, both on campus and in the city and county, are free and open to all unless otherwise stated on the events posters.
The events programme is a collaboration between the University’s HR and Professional Development departments, the LGBTQ Staff Network, and schools and departments across the institution.
Dr Max Biddulph, Chair of the University’s LGBTQ Staff Network, said: “LGBT History Month is a great opportunity for the University to celebrate and highlight both our LGBT staff, and our research. We hope to give people a chance to learn more about LGBT issues, culture and history, challenge and debate their current thinking, and to be entertained.”
Many of the events will be live tweeted on Twitter from @UoNresearch. Follow the account at www.twitter.com/uonresearch for updates.
For more information visit the LGBT History Month blog or email claire.henson@nottingham.ac.uk
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular university in the UK among graduate employers, in the top 10 for student experience according to the Times Higher Education and winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the THE Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top one per cent of universities by the QS World University Rankings, and 8th in the UK by research power according to REF 2014.
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