VCU Libraries Faculty Vita
Wesley Chenault
Head, Special Collections and Archives
(Assistant Professor)
Special Collections and Archives
Room 401, James Branch Cabell Library
(804) 827-3576
wjchenault@vcu.edu
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, American Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2008
Master of Arts, Women’s Studies, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 2007
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (cum laude), Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 1992
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Certification, Academy of Certified Archivists, 2010
Archives Leadership Institute, 2011
Previous Professional Experience
Library Research Associate, Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Atlanta, GA, 2008-2011
Archivist, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA, 2004-2008
Assistant Project Archivist, National Endowment for the Humanities, Herndon Foundation, Atlanta, GA, 2002-2004
Academic Professional, Women’s Collections, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University (GSU), Atlanta, GA, Summer 2001
Archival Assistant, Women’s Collections, Special Collections and Archives, GSU, Atlanta, GA, 1997-2000
Publications
Book, An Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940-1970 (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, forthcoming)
Article, "A Queer New South City: Placing Lesbians and Gay Men in Mid-Twentieth Century Atlanta," in Queer South Rising: Voices of a Contested Place, ed. Ugena Whitlock (Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, forthcoming)
Entry, “Eliza Ann Grier (1864-1902),” New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2012
Entry, “Male Stereotypes and Social Class in the American South,” The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, vol. 20, eds. Larry Griffin and Peggy Hargis (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2012)
Review, Laura Ann Stoler, Along the Archival Grain: Epistemic Anxieties and Colonial Common Sense (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008), in Provenance (Morrow, GA: Society of Georgia Archivists, 2011)
Article, “More than a Credential,” Archival Outlook (SAA newsletter), July/August 2011, and ACA News (ACA newsletter), issue 74, Summer 2011
Review, Craig Thompson Friend, ed., Southern Masculinity: Perspectives on Manhood in the South since Reconstruction (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2009), Journal of Southern History, vol. 76, no. 3, 2010
Essay, “Discursive Memorials: Queer Histories in Atlanta’s Public Spaces,” Southern Spaces, John Q artist collective, published online 26 February 2010Entry, “Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2009Entry, “Herman J. Russell (b. 1930),” New Georgia Encyclopedia, 2009Book, Gay and Lesbian Atlanta, co-authored with Stacy Braukman (Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008)
Presentations
Speaker, "The Queer U.S. South and Southward: A Comparative Roundtable on Histories of LGBT Activism," American Historical Association, New Orleans, LA (January 2013)
Chair, "Diversity in Archives," panel discussion, MARAC Fall Conference, Richmond, VA (October 2012)
Panelist, "The Fight for Knowledge: Civil Rights and Education in Richmond," Imagining America Conference, New York, NY (October 2012)
Panelist, with artist collective John Q, Artist Talk, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA, 2012
Chair, "You, Me, We: Meeting Modern Challenges to Archives Through Collaboration," panel discussion, joint meeting of Archives Management and Lone Arrangers Roundtables, SAA Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, 2012
Panelist, with artist collective John Q, "Collaborative Practice and the Future of Memory," National Queer Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA, 2012
Moderator, "Wythe: A Drama in Black and White...and so much more," post-play panel, Henderson Middle School, Richmond, VA, 2012
Panelist, “Fostering a Diverse Profession: Mentoring and Internship Programs,” SAA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, 2011
Panelist, “Building Bridges: Collecting and Preserving African American LGBT Culture and Community,” ALMS (Archives Libraries, Manuscripts, and Special Collections), West Hollywood, CA, 2011
Panelist, “Place, Social Responsibility, and the Work of History,” Organization of American Historians Annual Conference, Houston, TX, 2011
Guest Lecturer and Workshop Instructor, “Activating the Archives,” John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Brown University, Providence, RI, 2011
Panelist, with artist collective John Q, “Practices of Public Scholarship: What Public? Whose Scholarship?” Southern American Studies Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2011
Guest Speaker, “Preserving Your Pearls: Archival Basics Workshop 101,” Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Tau Epsilon Omega Chapter, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Panelist, “Sound and Motion: Preservation and Use of Audiovisual Materials,” SGA Annual Conference, Augusta, GA, 2010
Lecturer, “The Place of Archives in Theory and Practice,” Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Panelist, with artist collective John Q, “Practices of Public Scholarship, Part II: What Public? Whose Scholarship?” ILA Colloquia, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Panelist, Plenary Session, “Reclaiming Our Stories: A Conversation Among Organizers of LGBT Community-Based Oral History Projects,” Oral History Association Annual Conference (OHA), Atlanta, GA, 2010
Presenter, “Documenting Queer Domesticity in Atlanta: From Attics and Closets to Archives,” Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference, Berkeley, CA, 2010
Instructor, “Hands-on Preservation” for “Save Our African American Treasures,” National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institute, Atlanta, GA, 2010
Panelist, “Gender and Diversity in the Workplace,” Gender and Women’s Studies Program, KSU, Kennesaw, GA, 2008
Guest Speaker, “Women, Memory, and Queer Desire,” Feminist Women’s Health Center, Atlanta, GA, 2008Panelist, “Exhibitions on a Shoestring: Practical Advice,” American Association for State and Local History Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, 2007
Workshop Instructor, “Exhibits Made Simple,” SGA workshop, Augusta, GA, 2005
Instructor, “Basic Archives Practices,” Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries Annual Conference, Rome, GA, 2004Moderator, “Getting More Bang Out of Your Preservation Bucks,” SGA Annual Conference, Morrow, GA, 2004
Teaching Experience
University of West Georgia, Department of History, Carrollton, GA
“Advanced Archives Practicum,” Public History Program, graduate level course, 2010
“Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice,” Public History Program, graduate and undergraduate level courses, 2009
University of New Mexico, Department of American Studies, Albuquerque, NM
“Introduction to Gender Studies,” undergraduate level course, 2000 – 2002
University Committee Work
VCUArts, Community Advisory Committee, 2012-2013
Council for Community Engagement, 2012-present
University Equity and Diversity Committee, LGBT Subcommittee, 2012-present
VCU Libraries Committee Work
Development and Public Relations Coordinating Committee, 2012-present
Digital Preservation Committee, 2011-present
Management Council, 2011-present
Faculty Organization, 2011-present; Faculty Senate Representative, 2nd alternate, 2012-2013
Professional Organizations
Academy of Certified Archivists
American Historical Association
American Studies Association
Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
Society of American Archivists
Society of Georgia Archivists