The joint annual Fall Gathering and Closing Ceremony for Queer History Month 2017, which provides an opportunity for the campus community to learn about the story of Queer History Month and Fredonia's Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) and Ethnic Studies programs, will be held on Monday, Oct. 23, at Williams Center Room S204.
Transgender writer and activist Julia Serano will deliver the keynote address, “A Social Justice Activist’s Perspective on Call-Out Culture, Identity Politics and Political Correctness," at the gathering to be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
“Over the last century, social justice activism has played a crucial role in challenging prejudice and promoting equity for women, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups,” said Jeffry Iovannone, coordinator, WGST. “While most of us profess support for these past accomplishments, we may nevertheless resist newer expressions of social justice activism or dismiss them as examples of ‘all-out culture,’ ‘identity politics’ or ‘political correctness’ run amok.”
In this talk, Serano will address this discrepancy. Serano has written (particularly in her books “Excluded” and “Outspoken”) about how social justice movements sometimes become too exclusive, inflexible or counterproductive tendencies that likely contribute to resistance toward contemporary activism, and for which Serano has suggested potential remedies.
Serano also demonstrates how the general public’s lack of awareness about how prejudice and discrimination actually work, and how activists can effectively counter them, is a major factor driving this resistance. Striving to generate more light than heat, and to remain accessible to activists and non-activists alike, Serano will discuss the purpose of social justice activism and its limitations.
Light refreshments will be served, and copies of Serano's books will be available for purchase at the program, which is sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Program, Interdisciplinary Studies and Pride Alliance, and is free and open to the public.
An interdisciplinary poster exhibit, created by students in Dr. John Arnold's and Dr. Iovannone's HIST 397/WGST 377: Queer History and ENGL 343: Queer Literature in honor of LGBTQ History Month, will be displayed, Oct. 17 to 31, in the Reed Library atrium. The exhibit seeks to educate viewers on foundational topics from queer history, as well as profiles of contemporary “queer pioneers” LGBTQ cultural figures who have made a significant impact on queer culture, the way queer people are perceived or advance LGBTQ rights and representation.
Hosted by the Department of History and WGST, the exhibit is free and open to the public.
