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The ForumAuthor: KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio
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Unmentionable Histories: Looking at the Past Queerly
Sunday, 16 August, 2026
History is often presented as a collection of settled facts, but the stories we tell about the past are shaped by the questions we ask. What happens when we stop asking whether queer people existed in history and start asking how they lived, loved, performed, and imagined their futures? In this interactive lecture, artist and historian Joseph Germain Keehn II explores what it means to view history through a queer lens — examining the people, relationships, performances and possibilities that traditional historical narratives have often overlooked. Drawing on the research behind Queertauqua — a traveling tent show inspired by the late-19th and early-20th centuries Chautauqua movement — this hands-on program combines historical storytelling with plushie-making, inviting participants to become “producers” for Queertauqua’s inaugural production, "A Series of Unmentionable Acts." Perfect for anyone curious about history, creativity and the stories that refuse to stay buried. Joseph Germain Keehn II is a cultural creator whose interdisciplinary practice is informed by history, theater, museum studies and queer theory. Their conceptually driven projects bridge archival research with the glam of camp and the melodrama of the absurd to challenge conventional norms. Joseph navigates the past as a “performance artist as historian,” transforming silences into vibrant spectacles that address the struggles of those who came before. Rooted in theorist Annamarie Jagose’s call to locate “queer as the source, not the destination,” Joseph centers LGBTQIA+ experiences as foundational to our collective history. By amplifying marginalized agency and resilience, their work offers a nuanced, empathetic and critical interpretation of the past. Queertauqua is the manifestation of this journey — a thought-provoking and memorably camp laboratory for the tenor of our times.
