Sexuality, Culture and Society Conference
Literacies and Sexualities in Cultural, Fictional, Real and Virtual Worlds: Past, Present, Future Perfect?
The International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS), a non-profit, world-wide civil association concerned with the social and cultural study of sexuality is jointly hosting its 10th conference with DCU from June 17th to 20th.
Literacies and Sexualities in Cultural, Fictional, Real and Virtual Worlds: Past, Present, Future Perfect will bring together academics, researchers, policy makers and activists from diverse disciplines including anthropology, history, sociology, health policy, humanities and cultural and gender studies, who are all engaged in examining concepts of sexuality around the globe. This biennial conference serves as a significant venue in the creation and strengthening of sexuality networks and coalitions across disciplines, professions and regions.
Key international and national experts in masculinity studies, feminism and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues will address the conference:
● Professor Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities, Stony Brook University, New York. He is spokesperson for the National Organisation for Men against Sexism. His books include Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era and Guyland, the Perilous World Where Boys Become Men. Professor Kimmel will speak on the subject of Promoting Men’s Sexual Literacy on Campus: Pornography, Hooking Up and Sexual Assault.
● Professor Nivedita Menon, Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Prof. Menon is a noted feminist, author, translator and activist. Often considered as one of the pioneers of feminist theory in India, her books include Seeing like a Feminist, Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics beyond the Law.
● John Greyson, Canadian film-maker, writer, professor and activist. His films, which often deal with gay themes, include Urinal & Other Stories, Pissoir, Zero Patience and Fig Trees. He participated in the 2011 Gaza Flotilla and was detained in Egypt while en route to Gaza.
● Sexuality, Freedom and Safety in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) countries - a group of speakers who have travelled from countries such as Libya and Syria will speak about their experiences of living as gay men and women in the Middle East.
● Wallace Wong - clinical psychologist of the Adolescent and Children Sexual Health Program of the Child and Youth Mental Health Services in Surrey, and author of When Kathy is Keith, a book explaining transgender themes to children.
The conference will also feature a number of prominent Irish speakers including:
● Vanessa Lacey, Transgender Equality Network Ireland - Transformative Effects of Academia, Transgender Lives
● Michael Barron, BeLonG To - Comparing Irish, Australian and South African Strategies to Support Sexual and Gender Diversity at School
● Paul D’Alton, Head of Psycho-oncology Department, St Vincent’s Hospital - Damn Shame: the Power of Shame to Silence and Isolate
● Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director, Amnesty Ireland
● Senator David Norris
● Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection - Sexual Literacy, Education and Activism - the Irish Experience
Full details of the programme are available on the conference website, www.iasscs.org/2015conference. The conference will take place in the Helix from Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th June.