Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 12:38:48 -0500 From: David B. O'Donnell Subject: LBG Conference (Iowa City, IA) [ Send all responses to docsyd@worf.infonet.net only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MEREDITH ALEXANDER OR BRETT BEEMYN 319-335-2092 SIXTH NORTH AMERICAN QUEER STUDIES CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON MIDWEST CAMPUS The University of Iowa will host the midwest premier of the North American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Studies Conference, InQueery/In Theory/InDeed from November 17-20, 1994 on The University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. In previous years, the conference has been hosted by Harvard, Princeton, Rutgers and Yale. More than fifteen hundred participants are expected from nearby and around the world, including scholars, activists and artists. According to Conference Co-Chair Meredith Alexander, this year's conference is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and experience. The schedule includes scholarly papers, performances and exhibits, panel discussions and practical problem-solving workshops. Keynote speakers at this year's conference are: Gloria Anzaldua, Chicana theorist, activist, author of Borderlands, and Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado, and co-editor of the indispensable feminist text This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color; Lani Ka'ahumanu, Hawaiian activist, bisexual, HIV educator, co-editor of Bi Any Other Name, and speaker at the 1993 March on Washington; and Tim Miller, Performance artist, activist, teacher, member of ACT UP/LA and one of the "NEA Four" whose unanimously recommended solo performer fellowship was denied because of its content. Conference highlights include: Academic panels and round tables addressing the pressing issues of queer studies and theory ranging from queers in the military to queers in the Bible, from bisexuality in popular culture to gay history, and from the camp aesthetic to the political, ethical, and legal implications of scientific research on sexual orientation. Workshops on such topics as adolescent sexuality, AIDS education in the Native American community, insurance coverage for same-sex partners, and infusing queer issues into the high school and university curricula. Performance by widely acclaimed artists. At Hancher Auditorium: From Great Britain, the highly-acclaimed STOMP, the thought-wrenching humor of Pomo Afro Homos, solo performances by Tim Miller and Marga Gomez, and two original plays, Out, about the controversial practice of outing, and Bride As Frankenstein, about the disempowerment of the feminine within the lesbian community. Art exhibits at locations on campus and around Iowa City. On campus: At The University Art Museum, photos by Paul Cadmus and Jared and Margaret French of Fire Island circa 1937-1950s; In The Theatre Building, Canadian photographer Susan Stewart. Also, in conjunction with the conference, Iowa City will be included in the national tour of The Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement, a historical exhibition that salutes the movement and examines its history from 1967 to 1994, created by the The Advocate in cooperation with Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons, Inc. At m. c. ginsberg and at Clapp Recital Hall, Los Angeles artist Klaus Gerhart, whose work was published in the large-format book Embracing Men. Elsewhere in Iowa City, look for inspiring and provocative exhibits at The Great Midwestern, The Tobacco Bowl, Old Brick, The Johnson County Art Center, The Cottage, and the Women's Resource and Action Center (WRAC). Film and Video at The Bijou in The Iowa Memorial Union, a Queer Film Fest of new work. At the Communication Studies Building, a program of Asian American film and video on questions of gay and lesbian identities. At the Union, video screening room open daily during conference. Readings at Prairie Lights Bookstore by Marilyn Hacker, Eve Sedgwick, and Rafael Campo. Plus... Gary J. Stern, Kevin DiLallo, Jack Krumholtz, Mark Zubro and other "mystery" guests. Readings will be broadcast live on WSUI. The InQueery Coffeehouse offers conference participants a chance to get into the act. Located in The Iowa Memorial Union, The Coffeehouse invites all kinds of performance, from stand-up comedy to poetry, from 3 to 30 minutes. Dance with live band, Ms. Behavin'. Over 500 papers and panel proposals and over 70 proposed workshops were received from writers an speakers at every level. This year's conference organizers chose to expand the usual emphasis of gay studies on literary or performance theory and criticism to include innovative research by anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, doctors, lawyers, and activists. The result is a breadth of work that addresses international, cross-cultural, theoretical, and political issues of sexuality and race in the USA, with special attention to African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and Native American cultures, as well as bisexuality and transexuality. Says Co-Chair Alexander, "This year's conference is particularly meaningful coming as it does 25 years after the manifesto at Stonewall to never be silent or invisible again." For more information on the conference or to request a registration form, call: 1-319-335-2092 or write to: InQueery, InTheory, InDeed c/o Center for Conferences and Institutes Iowa Memorial Union The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242. You may also reach Co-Chairs Meredith Alexander or Brett Beemyn on the Internet at: geeta-patel@uiowa.edu.