Date: Feb 08, 2010

Hofstra University Presents 4th Annual LGBT Symposium: "Sexual Identity: They Ain't What They Used to Be"

March 5 and 6, 2010; Co-Directed by Judith S. Kaufman and David A. Powell

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Hofstra University will present Sexual Identity: They Ain’t What They Used to Be, the 4th annual LGBT symposium on March 5 and 6, 2010.

Symposium directors Judith S. Kaufman, associate professor of Curriculum and Teaching, and David A. Powell, director of Hofstra’s LGBT Studies Program, professor of French and chair of Romance Languages and Literatures, expect the conference will facilitate dialogue relating to the shifting consciousness of LGBT youth and the viability of a continued “gay movement.” Topics will be political, sociological, developmental and psychological, anthropological, pedagogical, and historical in nature. There will also be commentary on literary and cinematic representations of the shifting nature of the gay “community.”

For more information about Sexual Identity: They Ain’t What They Used to Be please call the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669 or contact Professor David Powell at david.powell@hofstra.edu, Professor Judith S. Kaufman at Judith.S.Kaufman@hofstra.edu or visit the Web site at hofstra.edu/lgbt.

One highlight of the symposium will be a performance by Alec Mapa, a well-known American-Filipino comic who has had recurring roles on Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City. His performance will take place on Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Guthart Cultural Center Theater, First Floor, Axinn Library, South Campus. Tickets are $15, $5 for members of the Hofstra community upon presentation of a current HofstraCard. For ticket information call the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669.

Presentations include:

Friday, March 5

“Schools as Social Institutions: Perpetuating the Status Quo” by Amy Shema, Warner Graduate School of Education, University of Rochester.

“The Positive Impacts of Teaching LGBT Issues in the Secondary Classroom” by Nicole Sieben, School of Education, Adelphi University.

“Toward a Theory of Rural Queer Studies” by Jennifer M. de Coste, Institutional Diversity Initiatives, Clarkson University.

“Sexual Disorientation, Queer Space: The Art of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset” by Thomas O. Haakenson, Department of Liberal Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

“Is Anybody Wicked Anymore? Or, Are We Ourselves?” by Tamara Powell, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kennesaw State University.

“Gay and Blue:  The Language for Same-Sex Desire in Putin and Medvedev’s Russia” by Alexandar Mihailovic, Comparative Literature and Languages, Hofstra University.

“Fag Is Not My Identity: Knock It Off!” by Christian Fuscarino and Anthony Crisci, Pride Network, Hofstra University

Saturday, March 6

“The New Gay Teenager: A Revolution in the Making?” by Ritch C. Savin-Williams, Human Development, Cornell University.

“Beyond Rejection and Acceptance: Allophilia and ‘Straight Ally’ Attitudes and Behaviors” by Todd L. Pittinsky, JFK School of Government, Harvard University.

“So, Not Only Am I Queer, I’m Not Even Good at It? A Community Provider’s Perspective on the Shifting in ‘Single’ Consciousness of LGBT Youth” by Robin P. McHaelen & Kamora L. Herrington, True Colors Inc., Sexual Minority Youth and Family Services, Farmingdale, NY; and Cheryl A. Parks, School of Social Work, University of Connecticut.

“Risking the Lives of Youth?: Troubled Sexuality in Youth Organizations from the BSA to the YMCA” by Thomas J. Balcerski, Department of History, Cornell University.

“Becoming Sexual and Gendered Subjects: The Identities Young People Claim and the Freedoms Within Them” by Darla L. Linville, Education Program, Colby College.

“Contemporary Gay Identity and the Syndrome that Never Was” by Richard Canning, English Literature, Bishop Grosseteste University College, UK.

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Related Link: LGBT Symposium