The 12th Annual Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Lecture in Gender & Sexuality Studies Who is a Queer Ancestor?: Revisiting the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Conversation

Please join us for “Who is A Queer Ancestor?,” the Twelfth Annual Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Lecture in Gender & Sexuality Studies with Professor Tavia Nyong’o.

This lecture explores the idea of queer ancestry and the prospects of being a “good ancestor.” It reflects upon the process of memorializing the dead and the risks of secular sainthood. The lecture discusses re-staging a famous encounter between Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, and suggests that ancestor reverence might obscure the productive aspects of conflict in shaping queer history Drawing on the irreverent stance of the late Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina, the lecture proposes a model for decolonizing the ancestral, particularly relevant in the digital era.

Reception to follow. This event is free and open to the public.

Presented by the Boston University Gender and Sexuality Studies Group. Co-sponsored by: The Boston University Center for the Humanities; The Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Foundation; H.A. Sedgwick; LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff; the Departments of English, History, Religion, Romance Studies, Sociology, and World Languages & Literature; and the Programs in: African American Studies Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies.

When 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm on 24 October 2024
Building Howard Thurman Center, 808 Commonwealth Ave.
Room 104
Contact Name Allison Reilly
Contact Email lgbtqia@bu.edu
Contact Organization Boston University Gender and Sexuality Studies Group. Co-sponsored by: The Boston University Center for the Humanities; The Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Foundation; H.A. Sedgwick; LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff; the Departments of English, History, Religion
Fees free
Open To students faculty staff
Speakers Professor Tavia Nyong’o.