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
M.A. Women’s Studies, Georgia State University, 2007
B.A. Psychology (cum laude), Auburn University, 1992
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, 2008-2011
Archivist, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center, 2004-2008
Assistant Project Archivist, National Endowment for the Humanities, Herndon Foundation, 2002-2004
Academic Professional, Women’s Collections, Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University (GSU), Summer 2001
Archival Assistant, Women’s Collections, Special Collections and Archives, GSU, 1997-2000
Publications
Book, An Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940-1970 (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, forthcoming)
Article, co-authored with Salvador Barajas, Laura Browder, Patricia Herrera, and Katherine Schmidt, "An Archive, Public Participation, and a Performance: Five Perspectives," Public: A Journal of Imagining America, vols. 1 and 2 (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, 2013)
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, co-authored with idea collective John Q, published online 26 February 2010
Journal, "Remember Me, Forget Me," issue 3,The JOSH, guest editors idea collective John Q (NY: Arts and Sciences Projects, 2010)
Entry, “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
Project, with idea collective John Q, "Untitled (Books)," Elsewhere, Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of Southern Constellations, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship program, 2013
Interview, Julia Brock with idea collective John Q, "Embodying the Archive (Part 1): Art Practice, Queer Politics, Public History," History@Work, a digital publication project of the National Council on Public History, 2013
Exhibition, with idea collective John Q,"The Campaign For Atlanta: An Essay on Queer Migration," Atlanta Cyclorama, 2013
Speaker, "The Queer U.S. South and Southward: A Comparative Roundtable on Histories of LGBT Activism," American Historical Association, New Orleans, LA, 2013
Chair, "Diversity in Archives," panel discussion, MARAC Fall Conference, Richmond, VA, 2012
Panelist, "The Fight for Knowledge: Civil Rights and Education in Richmond," Imagining America Conference, New York, NY, 2012
Panelist, with idea 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 idea 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 idea collective John Q, “Practices of Public Scholarship: What Public? Whose Scholarship?” Southern American Studies Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2011
Exhibition, with idea collective John Q, "Discursive Documents: Performing the Catalogue," Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, 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 idea 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
Public intervention series, with idea collective John Q, "Memory Flash," 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
- “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
- “Introduction to Gender Studies,” undergraduate level course, 2000 – 2002
University Committee Work
Grievance Board, VCU Libraries alternate, 2013-2016
Faculty Senate, VCU Libraries 2nd alternate, 2012-2013, 1st alternate 2013-2014
Council for Community Engagement, member, 2012-present
Equity and Diversity Committee, LGBT Subcommittee,member, 2012-present
VCUArts, Community Advisory Committee, member, 2012-2013
VCU Libraries Committee Work
Development and Public Relations Coordinating Committee, member, 2012-present
Digital Preservation Committee, member, 2011-present
Management Council, 2011-present, chair, 2013-2014
Faculty Organization, 2011-present
Professional Organizations
Academy of Certified Archivists
Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
Society of American Archivists
Society of Georgia Archivists