D.C. Queer Studies 2018: TRANS(form)ing Queer

Conference Poster

Event Information

Friday, April 13, 2018
8 a.m. - 6:45 p.m.
Tawes Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD

In a daylong series of conversations about the history, present, and future of the overlapping, intersecting, but also often conflicting fields, we bring together scholars and artists to chart new directions for queer and trans studies. What forms of knowledge production might dictate or influence future political, academic, or artistic configurations – whether mergers, transformations, or the death of queer and transgender studies for something more radical?

In 2004, Susan Stryker wrote: “If queer theory was born of the union of sexuality studies and feminism, transgender studies can be considered queer theory’s evil twin.” In 2018, with the institutionalization of queer studies unevenly complete and transgender scholarship and politics rising in academic and media prominence, what relations (kinship or otherwise) between queer and trans knowledges are emerging? What breaks have become apparent? Given its 11-year history, we see the DC Queer Studies Symposium as a particularly important place to provide space for these fields and to engage, interrogate, and highlight their ongoing evolution at a time of renewed political urgency. Thus, the symposium will be a space not only to reflect, but also to chart new directions for queer and trans studies.

Confirmed Speakers

• Aren Aizura (University of Minnesota)
• micha cárdenas (University of Washington-Bothell)
• Matt Richardson (University of Texas-Austin)
• Jeanne Vaccaro (University of California-Davis)

Conference Visitor Information

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