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Wel
come
to
the
2019-2020
Academic
Year
!
Here at the Institute, now housed on the fifth floor of the Marshall Building on Park Avenue, we look forward to a full and exciting year of programming and research. Our theme for the year is Arts, Culture & Expression. Under this theme, we will be holding a variety of workshops throughout the academic year focused on LGBTQ+/queer/trans storytelling and zine-making; physical art such as spray paint and found object art; exploration of representation in literature and comics; comedy; letter writing and divination poetry; drag as therapy, and "Drag Story Hour". The culmination of all of this will be on November 9
th
for our Artistic InQUEERies: An Evening of LGBTQ+ Art, Culture, and Expression, which will center LGBTQ+-identified people, and especially those with intersectional identities within the LBGTQ+ community. We also anticipate engaging workshops, seminars, and presentations as a result of several collaborative projects between faculty and community organizations, which were funded under our new Arts & Education Initiative. We are excited to again be collaborating with other organizations in the community, such as Antigone Books and The Jewish History Museum to bring UA and community-based programs together.
In partnership with Southern Arizona Senior Pride, we have launched a study on the well-being of older LGBTQ+ adults in Pima County. As the initial phase of the project moves forward, we'll be adding other UA and community partners, and aim to organize a symposium at the beginning of the new year-bringing together expert scholars to share their expertise and guide us as we move into data collection. If you are interested in being involved in this project, please contact Jill Koyama at
[email protected]. As well, our Arizona Queer Archives (AQA), Trans Studies Research Cluster (TSRC), and Queer Migration (QM) strands will continue with the important and robust research and programming they have become known for throughout the years.
Beginning in September, we will resume hosting our twice-weekly clothing exchange space, the Queer Closet, at the Institute. For more information about the Queer Closet, internship opportunities, or to donate clothing, please contact Angela Labistre Champion at
[email protected]. Additionally, we will continue support of and participation in the Queer & Trans People of Color committee, which hosts QTPOC-identified speakers, facilitates workshops, and aims to hold/create other supportive spaces for QTPOC students at the UA. We are currently working to launch our new website, complete with an events calendar, in the upcoming weeks, so that you can see all of our work and events in one convenient place. Also follow us on our social media to get the latest updates on the Institute's happenings: IG: @ilgbt_uofa and FB: @ilgbtuofa
Our Institute staff, who welcome Ruben Zecena and Luna Chung as GRAs this year, remains dedicated to bringing people and ideas together to conduct research, develop curriculum, and delivering program centered on issues important to LGBTQ+ communities. We are also committed to acting courageously and in solidarity with all those who are oppressed by the inequitable institutions, policies, and practices at UA and across Southern Arizona.
As Teju Cole and Fazal Sheikh remind us in their beautiful book, Human Archipelago: "As human beings we might be temporarily bounded by our circumstances. But we are not contained by them." The Institute staff wants to think and act expansively with you as we enter the new school year.
In closing, we wish you an excellent start to the year, as well as invite you to peruse, share, and attend our upcoming events featured below--we look forward to seeing you!
Best,
Jill Koyama, Director (she/her/hers)
Sarah Maaske, Program Coordinator (she/they)
Angela Labistre Champion, Lead Graduate Research Associate (she/her/hers)
Meet the newest members of the Institute staff!
Ruben Zecena joins the iLGBTS staff as a graduate research associate, and is a PhD candidate in the Gender & Women's Studies department with a minor in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory. Born in El Salvador, he is on a constant search for "home" and specializes in queer migration studies. His work appears or is forthcoming in
WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly,
constellations, Border-Lines, and the edited collection
Queer and Trans Migrations. His dissertation,
Queer Relationalities: Migrations of Loss, Displacement, and Desire, elucidates how LGBT migrant subjectivity is shaped by loss and looks towards moments of queer relationality as an avenue for survival.
Luna Chung
also joins the iLGBTS staff as a graduate research associate, and is a PhD student in Gender and Women's Studies. She is a first-generation graduate from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Women's Studies and B.S. in Psychology. Born in a Hong Kong refugee camp, her research focuses on preserving the rich oral history of Vietnamese refugees at the intersections of gender, sexuality, class, race, and ethnicity.
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Join us for a book reading with author Jennifer Block!
Thursday, Aug. 29th
6-9 PM
The Libertine | 402 E 9th St
Light refreshments will be provided
Jennifer Block is an independent journalist focused on health, gender, and politics. During the evening's reading, she will share excerpts of her award-winning book
Everything Below the Waist, which explores how medicine has failed to overcome its patriarchal and paternalistic origins, as women are disproportionately subjected to unnecessary tests, treatments, and surgeries; vulnerable to "obstetric violence" in the delivery room; and yet unable to access effective treatments for pelvic pain and endometriosis.
Learn more about Jennifer and her work
here. View more event details for this reading
here.
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Trans
± Sex Symposium: Schedule of Events & Speaker Bios Now Available!
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Drag Queen Story Hour for Families at Bookman's!
Saturday, Aug. 24th
10-11 AM
Bookmans East
6230 E Speedway Blvd
Be yourself, treat yourself, love yourself! Join the wonderful queens Lisa D'Leon and Miss Nature of Drag Story Hour - Arizona and read stories with us. This back-to-school event is 100% free and open to all ages! More details for this story hour can be found
here. You can also learn more about Drag Story Hour - Arizona
here.
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CONFERENCES, CALLS, CLASSES, and FUNDING
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Do you have events, announcements, courses, or other info you'd like to see in
the iLGBT Studies newsletter?
Please share content by Thursday to be featured in the following Monday's newsletter. Thank you!
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