Ellen Riggle and Sharon Rostosky, professors at the University of Kentucky, have recently published a book that focuses on the positive themes in LGBTQ lives. The book, A Positive View of LGBTQ: Embracing Identity and Cultivating Well-Being, includes stories that people shared when asked the simple but novel question, “What is positive about having a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer identity?” The answers focus on themes such as personal authenticity and insights, having stronger relationships with family and friends, flexibility in gender expression and roles, increased compassion for others, fighting for social justice, and a sense of community belonging.  The book includes exercises to inspire readers to cultivate their own positive narratives and strengths.

The book signing will be held on Wednesday, February 22 from 6:30p.m. to 8:00p.m. at the Morris Book Shop, located at 882 East High Street, Lexington.

Refreshments provided by the Department of Gender and Women's Studies

WHO: Mary Gray http://www.indiana.edu/~cmcl/faculty/gray.shtml.

WHAT: Appalachian Speaker Series - "Place Matters"

WHERE: Student Center Theater

WHEN: Friday, January 27, 2:30p.m. - 5:30p.m. 

Download the flyer

Gender & Women's Studies Spring 2012 Lecture Series presents Queens:

Rusty Barrett, Assistant Professor of Linguistics at UK, will present "Sickening Queens:  Ethnic and Class Differences in Drag".

Lecture begins at 4:00pm with a reception to follow.

Symposium - Narrating the Caribbean: Food for the Soul or Food for Thought

Day 2 - February 3, 2012 - Consuming Haiti: Its Haunting Past and Sustainable Future

Time: 4:00p.m. - 6:00p.m.

Place: 103 Main Building

"A Marshall Plan for Haiti?: To End or Continue the Legacy of Revolution by Myriam Chancy, University of Cincinnati

"Haiti Then and Now: The Terror of Equality" by Nick Nesbitt, Princeton University

Sponsors: College of Arts & Sciences, African American and Africana Studies Program, LSA, Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Division of  French and Italian, Department of English, Department of Gender and Women Studies.

Generally speaking, when people think about the Caribbean, they may have the motto Sun, Sea and Sex in mind. They may visualize tropical and hedonistic islands where they could go on vacation to have fun and relax. The Caribbean often remains a tourist destination until tragedy strikes, like 2 years ago with the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

What do we know really about the Caribbean, its people and its cultures? Could this space be anything else but a place to go on vacation and have cheap alcohol and sex or on a rescue mission, if not on community service?

Simplistic and stereotypical views prevent us from seeing histories of survival, of self-determination and resilience against all odds. What really happened to displaced populations from the African continent, put into bondage for centuries and then supposedly liberated and left to fare for themselves under the tight influence of external forces? Was the end of slavery, the end of the plantation system the end of their sorrows and struggles? What about the effects of western imperialism, colonialism or any other -ism one can think of?

To answer some of these questions, Valerie Loichot and Jacqueline Couti will examine the socio-political implication of sexuality, gender and violence in French Caribbean literature. Two years after the earthquake, Myriam Chancy and Nick Nesbitt will explore the controversial representations of Haiti in the media and discuss the future of Haiti's sovereign sustainability.

Symposium: Narrating the Caribbean: Food for the Soul or Food for Thought

Day 1: February 2, 2012 - "Politics of Food and Sexuality in French Caribbean Literature"

Time: 4:45p.m. - 6:30p.m.

Place: Niles Gallery, Lucille Caudill Little Library

"Savoureux Piment: The Fake Pornography of Gisèle Pineau and Dany Laferrière" by Valerie Loichot, Emory University

"Bon appétit: A Masculine Tale of Desire, Resistance, and Fear in Raphael Confiant's Mamzelle Dragonfly" by Jacqueline Couti, University of Kentucky

Sponsors: College of Arts & Sciences, African American and Africana Studies Program, LSA, Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures, Division of  French and Italian, Department of English, Department of Gender and Women Studies.

Download the flyer

Generally speaking, when people think about the Caribbean, they may have the motto Sun, Sea and Sex in mind. They may visualize tropical and hedonistic islands where they could go on vacation to have fun and relax. The Caribbean often remains a tourist destination until tragedy strikes, like 2 years ago with the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

What do we know really about the Caribbean, its people and its cultures? Could this space be anything else but a place to go on vacation and have cheap alcohol and sex or on a rescue mission, if not on community service?

Simplistic and stereotypical views prevent us from seeing histories of survival, of self-determination and resilience against all odds. What really happened to displaced populations from the African continent, put into bondage for centuries and then supposedly liberated and left to fare for themselves under the tight influence of external forces? Was the end of slavery, the end of the plantation system the end of their sorrows and struggles? What about the effects of western imperialism, colonialism or any other -ism one can think of?

To answer some of these questions, Valerie Loichot and Jacqueline Couti will examine the socio-political implication of sexuality, gender and violence in French Caribbean literature. Two years after the earthquake, Myriam Chancy and Nick Nesbitt will explore the controversial representations of Haiti in the media and discuss the future of Haiti's sovereign sustainability.

Dr. Sholeh Sharokhi, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Butler University, will give a talk entitled "Engendering the Protester: Body Politics and Sexual Representation of the Iranian Political Protest".



 

Whether you are coming back from winter break or coming back to school- make sure you come to the LGBT Welcome Back event.  The LGBT Task Force and the Office for Institutional Diversity is hosting a social hour for students, staff, faculty, and community members who are supportive of LGBT individuals.  Here you will find resources for LGBT related activities, free food and plenty of socializing! 

Please contact Mel Lesch with any questions about this event at lesch.mel@gmail.com

Sponsored by the History Department.

Contact Dr. Whitlock or Dr. Goan for more information.