Global Queer Research Group: Sexual Politics in the Era of Transnationalism, Diasporas and Postcoloniality

We would like to thank our guest speakers, Dr. Suzanne Lenon and OmiSoore H. Dryden for their amazing, provocative and insightful talks at the Homonalism in Canada lecture yesterday. Also thank you to many people who came and participated in the engaged conversations. Lastly, many thanks to the Liu Institute and Critical Studies in Sexuality for their generous supports.
For those who missed the talk, the presentations were recorded, and will be posted on this blog soon.

It is amazing that we have successfully hosted a series of events (including the workshop by Val Kalende, Film screening with Dr. Chris Dolan, Queer U panel, and the Homonationalism lecture) in such a short time since we formed this group. We shall carry on with this momentum and look forward to working with the new members and colleagues. We will meet again soon to discuss other day-to-to activities (Reading group, research seminars, social events) for the rest of 2012, so please make sure to follow this blog or the GQRG listserv for updates!

FYI. A letter composed by the concerned Liu Scholars, for which GQRG is one of the signatories.
The letter is scheduled to appear on national media publications.
For further information and discussion on the legal implications of the proposed bill,  please participate in the conference by the Canadian Refugee Lawyers Association at the Liu Institute on March 9 (see the link in the below).

————-

Dear Editor,

In light of the upcoming public events exploring the proposed Bill C-31, including the national open conference on March 9th (with provisions for people out of town to participate via webinar) we are asking for this to be run as a letter to the editor/short editorial in Xtra West.

For more information http://www.refugeelawyersgroup.ca/conference2012

Thank you.

Liu Scholars Program, Liu Institute for Global Issues.

The right for people to seek asylum if they fear persecution on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group — which has been interpreted to mean gender and sexuality — is a non-derogable right enshrined in international and Canadian law. The proposed refugee law would violate this right and would have serious detrimental effects on both the legal system and on the people who exercise their right to seek protection in Canada. One needs only to look to the United States and to the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe to see what has happened when they have decided to “tighten up“ asylum provisions: abject poverty for asylum seekers, families ripped apart and a dramatic increase in xenophobic violence and rhetoric from society at large. This is the response waiting for people who have fled their homes only to find destitution and exclusion in a place which promises freedom, safety and a better life — none of which responds to the reasons for which refugees are fleeing persecution in the first place. Although the changes proposed in Bill C- 31 are cloaked the name of “protecting“ Canadian interests, the fact is this law runs counter to Canada’s identity, because it directly erodes human rights, including basic liberty and equality rights as guaranteed under the Charter. These changes will undoubtedly cause serious damage to Canada’s proud reputation as a protector of rights and human dignity.

The Global Queer Research Group (GQRG) Presents

Queer Kaleidoscopes: Disturbing Canadian Homonationalisms

A special guest lecture by

Dr. Suzanne Lenon & OmiSoore H. Dryden

When: March 2, 2012/10:00-­‐12:15
Where: Thea’s Lounge (Graduate Student Society Building)

RSVP: http://homonationalismincanada.eventbrite.com/

In this presentation, OmiSoore and Suzanne will speak to their forthcoming edited collection entitled, Queer Kaleidoscopes: Disturbing Canadian Homonationalisms; they will also present on their own work:

In her paper, Suzanne will talk about homonationalism from the vantage point of a post same-­‐ sex marriage context in Canada, specifically implications of its ensuing sense of “accomplishment” and narratives of progress. She will focus her discussion on two sites: critique of a recent book on queer rights in Canada, and discussion of emergent themes from her new research project on activisms in Alberta that seek to build multi-­‐issue, multi-­‐identity queer politics.

In her paper, OmiSoore employs a queer diasporic analysis, one that takes up discourses of colonialism, blackness and racialized sexuality in the reading of Canadian blood constructed through blood narratives and blood donation. OmiSoore posits that queer diasporic analysis is an effective tool by which to engage with subjects that exist beyond normative single logics of identity, such as ‘just gay’ subjectivity. Beginning with an interrogation of the donor questionnaire, and the deferral of bisexual and gay men, OmiSoore seeks to make visible bodies and knowledge that are perpetually estranged and consistently unthought.

OmiSoore H. Dryden is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies at OISE and the Collaborative Program in Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation employs queer diasporic analysis to interrogate Canadian homonationalism through the sites of blood and blood donation. Her work has appeared in Women & Environments International Magazine (2009) and Atlantis: A Women’s Studies Journal (2010) and she has a forthcoming chapter in the book, Ruptures: Anti-­‐Colonial & Anti-­‐Racist Feminist Theorizing (2012). In partnership with Dr. Suzanne Lenon, OmiSoore H. Dryden is editing the collection, Queer Kaleidoscopes: Disturbing Canadian Homonationalisms. Prior to her PhD studies, OmiSoore worked in the areas of anti-­‐racism and sexual diversity as a private consultant and as a senior staff administrator at York University (93-­‐04) and the University of British Columbia (04-­‐06).

Suzanne Lenon is Assistant Professor in the Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Lethbridge. Her research and teaching interests focus on critical race feminisms; law, gender and sexuality; and politics of nationalism, multiculturalism and queer rights. Her work has appeared in Canadian Journal of Women & the Law (2005), darkmatter (2008), and Social Identities (2011); she has articles forthcoming (2012) in the Journal of Intercultural Studies as well as Atlantis: A Women’s Studies Journal. Suzanne was a guest editorial board member for the issue ‘Women and Canadian Multiculturalism’ published by Canadian Woman Studies (2009). Together with OmiSoore H. Dryden, Suzanne is editing Queer Kaleidoscopes: Disturbing Canadian Homonationalisms.

For more information please contact:

Global Queer Research Group: globalqueer@gmail.com

Special Thanks to the Critical Studies in Sexuality and the Liu Institute for Global Issues for sponsoring this Event!