Destitution and Power: The Trans Experience

Description

The Johns Hopkins Office of Diversity and Inclusion is proud to announce the program and schedule of the new, exciting conference: Destitution and Power: The Trans Experience. Keynote addresses by Jack Halberstam and Sandy Stone.

From art and the media to philosophy and literature, from anecdotal experience to social implications, key figures in trans studies come together to recognize the achievements, individuate social urgencies and map the work still needed to attain equitable representation for trans people, including two-spirit, transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, nonbinary … people.

The conference poses necessary questions of visibility and representation: Can the trans person speak—and be heard? How does one show up and show themselves as trans? How and when is the other perceived as trans? What are the difficulties and opportunities of finding language for trans narratives? What would—or does—a trans world look like? The speakers are at the forefront of critical theory and provide important insights in the widespread debates on medical, architectural, and legal decisions that democratic institutions currently face. See the full schedule online.

Speakers include:

• Tatiana Avesani
• Noa Ben-Asher
• Sayan Bhattacharya
• Jo Giardini
• Jules Gill-Peterson
• Ariana Katz
• Katrin Pahl
• Ahmed Ragab
• Laurence A. Rickels
• Oli Rodriguez
• Bishakh Som
• Calvin Warren
• Perry Zurn

There will also be a panel discussion on "Girl Island: Sharing Sandy Stone's Story." Three members of the film team will discuss making a film, graphic novel, and audiobook about the fascinating life of Sandy Stone, the sound engineer, scholar, media theorist, and performance artist most often credited with founding trans studies and practices such as "interdisciplinary." The panel includes the film's director Marjorie Vecchio, art director of animation and graphic artist Bishakh Som, and film scholar and voice actor Florence Martin; moderated by Heather Kelley.

The event is cosponsored by:

• Alexander Grass Humanities Institute
• Gender and Sexuality Resources
• Center for Advanced Media Studies
• Center for Transgender Health
• Department of Anthropology
• Department of the History of Art
• Department of the History of Medicine
• Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
• Department of Political Science
• Liberal Arts, Peabody
• Program for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
• School of Education
• William H. Miller III Department of Philosophy