The Working Papers Series:

Join us for the inaugural iteration of the Archive/Counter-Archive Working Papers Series, which brings together PhD students from different Universities to hear about exciting doctoral research in the area of archival studies. Our first speaker is Dr. Jonathan Petrychyn, who recently graduated from the joint Communication and Culture Program at York and Ryerson University. Based on his dissertation research, “A Network of Feelings: Affective Economies of Queer & Feminist Film Festivals on the Canadian Prairies,” Jonathan’s talk will explore the affective dimensions of queer and feminist archives in the Prairies, and will be followed by a Q&A with the audience, moderated by our student organizers, Michael Marlatt and Axelle Demus.

How, exactly, does an archive become full of feelings? And what compels queer and feminist communities to archive their lives so vigorously? Jonathan Petrychyn will re-examine some key texts within the archival turn -- including Anne Cvetkovich’s archive of feelings, Derrida’s archive fever, Sarah Ahmed’s archive as a contact zone, and Foucault’s historical a priori -- and assess their relevance to contemporary efforts by queer and feminist communities to archive their lives. As case studies, Jonathan will turn to a regional network of queer & feminist archives often overlooked: those held by state institutions on the Canadian Prairies. While these archives have been increasingly used by scholars in prairie sexuality studies, we have yet to grapple with the affective and emotional impulses that underpin these archives. Jonathan thus suggests that Sara Ahmed’s theory of affective economies provides a framework for navigating these complex and diverse archives, and allows us to produce an affective history of that underscores the complex emotional processes of queer and feminist activism and community-building.

Dr. Jonathan Petrychyn is a curator, organizer, and writer based in Toronto. He completed his PhD in Communication & Culture at York & Ryerson Universities in 2019, and is currently the Stonewall 50 Symposium Coordinator for the Toronto Queer Film Festival. His research and community practice focuses on the public exhibition of queer & feminist media, and his writing has been published in Senses of Cinema, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, and Briarpatch.

Archive/Counter-Archive is a SSHRC project dedicated to researching and remediating audiovisual archives created by women, Indigenous Peoples, the LGBTQ2+ community, and immigrant communities. With 65+ researchers and 25+ partners, Archive/Counter-Archive looks to address how political, resistant, and community-based, counter-archives disrupt conventional narratives and enrich our histories. www.counterarchive.ca

Venue Accessibility Info:
There is at least one step at the entrance of Free Times Café. Everything is located on the ground floor, but the aisles and the bathroom are narrow.

SAVE THE DATE:
Our second Working Paper Series will be held on Tuesday, November 26 from 4:30 - 6:30 PM at Free Times Café. Stay tuned for updates!