Author Archives: froharddourlent

On behalf of the Queer U organizing committee (Larissa, Jen and I), I would like to thank everyone who came out to the conference yesterday, and contributed to making it a wonderful success! We are particularly grateful to our presenters, of course, but also to those of you who stayed throughout the day to support the conference and listen to our fantastic panelists. We loved the conversations that we overheard and took part in during the day and in the evening at the Wine & Cheese reception, so we hope that you all had a blast  and enjoyed the presentations, food, and drinks.

Thank you as well to those who have already given some feedback. If you have any comments on the day and how it went, we would love to hear it so that we know what we should do again, or avoid doing in the future. You can leave comments here on this page, or email me at helenefd [at] gmail.com.

Thank you all again, and we hope to see you again next year!

The 2012 edition of Queer U is a mere 24 hours away, and Jen, Larissa and I cannot wait to welcome everyone at the Liu and hear from our fantastic presenters! Even if you cannot make every panel, don’t hesitate to come by for part of the day, and don’t forget to join us for our Wine & Cheese reception starting at 6pm. The reception will have a 1950s theme with an ironic twist.

All are welcome to this free event with complimentary refreshements and appetizers! Two pieces of ID (19+) needed for wine service.

Dress is business casual, 1950s attire encouraged.

The program for the 2012 edition of Queer U and the poster for the event are now available! To see the full program, click on the cut below or visit our 2012 Program page.

All Queer U panels will be held in the Multipurpose Room on the ground level of the Liu Institute on February 15, 2012.

KEYNOTE | 9–10 |
Val Kalende, Ugandan LGBT rights activist
“The influence of the Christian right on sexual politics in Africa”

PANEL 1 | Challenging dominant narratives | 10-12pm |

LUNCH | 12-1 | Lunch is complimentary and vegan-friendly.

PANEL 2 | Reflections on Homonationalism | 1-2:30pm |

PANEL 3 | Resisting heteronormativity through art | 2:30-4:30pm |

PANEL 4 | Youths’ experiences as sites of tensions and opportunities | 4:30-6pm |

Drag Workshop | 6-7pm |

Wine & Cheese Reception | 6-9pm |

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We have already received lots of awesome submissions, but just in case you’ve been thinking about sending in something and haven’t yet had time – there’s your chance! We decided to extend the deadline for submissions to November 30. Make sure to send your abstracts to me and Jen before then!

Jen and I are very excited to announce that the CFP page has been updated with our new CFP for the 2012 edition of Queer U, entitled “Are We There Yet? Questioning Progress, Rethinking Ideals“. Check it out, share it with your friends and colleagues, and consider submitting for the event!

The deadline is November 15, 2011, and you can submit your 200-word abstract by sending it to me and Jen.

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I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of you that made it to the Penthouse for part or all of Queer U yesterday. The papers were compelling, the turn-out was fantastic and the audience asked great, pertinent questions. In short, it was everything I had hoped for! And that’s thanks to all of you – the presenters, the audience, and Allen and Jen for the beautiful room set-up (including murderous paper laterns!). The wine and cheese afterwards (which I take zero credit for!) was also wonderful, and I personally really enjoyed having a chance to sit down and chat with so many of you while enjoying delicious cheeses and a glass of wine.

This is it for Queer U 2011, but I am committed to making sure this event happens again next year. I hope you will keep an eye on this site – the call for papers for next year’s event will be posted here sometime in the fall.

Queer U 2011: The Promise and Praxis of ‘Making it Better’ is finally here, and I am very excited to hear about the amazing work that this year’s presenters  are doing. This morning I decided to add the abstracts for the papers that will be presented at the two panels this afternoon, so you can go read them here.

I hope to see many of you at the Penthouse Lounge of the GSS building this afternoon, and at the wine & cheese afterwards!

The poster for Queer U 2011 is now available! You can download the pdf file and circulate it amongst your friends and colleagues, or just share it with anyone who may be interested, or you can download the image file and set it as a wallpaper! Or maybe just circulate it, too.

Full program is now available: click here or on the appropriate tab at the top of the website.

I got so many submissions that I decided to make the event longer and turn it into two panels. I am really excited about the diversity and quality of topics and presenters, and I hope you will be too!

Note that we have also finalized the location for the event: it will happen in the Penthouse, which is on the 2nd floor in the GSS (Graduate Student Society) building. Queer U will be followed by a fancy reception with delicious food and drinks.

The poster for the event is in the works, and will be posted here as soon as it’s available!

The CFP for the 2011 edition of Queer U is officially being circulated! Feel free to share with friends, family, or fellow students that you think may be interested in submitting.