LGBT Studies Program and Hofstra Cultural Center present

2nd LGBT Symposium: Queer Exoticism

Thursday and Friday, October 11-12, 2007
Dr. David A. Powell, Director, LGBT Studies Program

Our search for the exotic has always been a veiled attempt to find our hidden or not-yet-determined identity. Often the foreigner symbolizes s/he who would be different but who is, in fact, that element of ourselves we seek to (re)discover. Looking abroad, then, is a commonplace metaphor for looking inside. Foreigners in literature and cinema commonly stand for the queer aspects we secretly hope to see represented. How does gazing at the foreigner or being the foreigner evoke queer desires that are often left unspoken?

But this symposium has a two-pronged ambition: How has the current state of American policy regarding same-sex couples encouraged American queers to look abroad, not just for exoticism but for civil rights policy, immigration policy, adoption policy, inheritance policy, etc.? As the country's politicians and moral leaders debate same-sex marriage, they continue to reduce queer discourse to an isolationist conception of the issues, leaving aside our potential participation in an international network. This conference seeks to examine the role of American intellectuals and activists in a movement not just of internal tolerance but also toward greater inclusion in international queer politics.