LGBT Queer Studies Conference

The UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies Program, David Bohnett Foundation, the Gill Foundation are planning the 10th Annual Queer Studies Conference Oct. 10-11 at 314 Royce Hall, on the UCLA campus. The conference used to be named the "QGrad Conference" and is free and open to the public. The conference supports teaching and research on the history and modern experiences of lesbians, gays bisexuals and transgender people. The conference also offers an undergraduate minor, organizes lecture series and facilitates the study of minority sexualities.

There will many established teachers and scholars there to help provide academic home for anyone interested in learning more about human sexuality and gender. The speakers at the conference include David Valentine (University of Minnesota), Gayatri Gopinath (New York University), Mary Gray (Indiana University), Juana María Rodríguez (UC Berkeley), Valerie Traub (University of Michigan), Jacob Hale (Cal State Northridge), Catherine Lord (UC Irvine), Jafari Sinclaire Allen (Yale University), Steven Epstein (UC San Diego), Heather Love (University of Pennsylvania), Richard Meyer (University of Southern California), Viviane Namaste (Concordia University), and Rinaldo Walcott (University of Toronto).

All subjects will be covered from art to politics, from globalization to gender variance. The special guest for the event will be popular film director, producer and screenwriter Cheryl Dunye. Dunye will show scenes from the "Outfest Legacy Project" says James A Scultz, director of the LGBT Studies Program at UCLA, about the conference "Since the government is not inclined to support research on sexuality and gender, universities play an essential role in furthering knowledge on these topics," he said.

"Although it may seem to some that LGBT Studies is focused on the private lives of a small number of people, the broader study of sexuality and gender, to which this program is committed, is relevant to the lives of everyone."

The program over view is as follows: Friday opens at 1 p.m. with a panel that will discuss "Diasporic Sexualities" followed by a Queer art/Trans Studies. After a break there will be another panel session with a reception and a performance to finish off the night.

Saturday starts earlier with another Panel session at 9, then at 10:45 a plenary panel on "Women on Women." Lunch at 12:15 followed again by a panel on "Queer studies in the Social Sciences," another Panel Session Three. At 5 the main event featuring Cheryl Dunye and finally a reception at 306 Royce.
Come ready to learn. The conference is open to all people and is meant for students and teachers to interact.

For further information you can contact the LGBTS office at lgbs@humnet.ucla.edu or call (310)206-0516.