Conference organized by Joseph Bristow, University of California, Los Angeles
Oscar Wilde, Sexuality, and the State will consider both the fin-de-siècle contexts and the worldwide consequences of the three trials involving Oscar Wilde that took place at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) from 3 April 1895 to 25 May 1895. These trials arguably constitute the most famous criminal proceedings relating to the state prohibition of male homosexuality.
The conference takes the occasion of Wilde’s courtroom ordeal as a starting-point for understanding not only the growing awareness of queer subcultures during the 1880s and 1890s but also the long shadow that Wilde’s trials cast upon the proscription of same-sex intimacy in many different parts of the world. The symposium provides a forum for legal and humanities scholars to exchange insights into this significant current of modern sexual history.
The conference is free to attend with advance registration and will be held in-person at the Clark Library and livestreamed on the Center’s YouTube Channel. In-person registration will close on Monday, June 3 at 5:00 p.m.
No registration is required to watch the livestream.
For a complete list of speakers, conference schedule, and to register for the conference, please visit the website.
Image: “The Arrest of Oscar Wilde: The Pet of London Society, One of Our Most Successful Playwriters and Poets, Arrested on a Horrible Charge,” Illustrated Police Budget, 13 April 1895: 8. Look and Learn History Picture Archive.