LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY HOSTS CONFERENCE ON GAY AND LESBIAN STUDIES-- Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, will be the sight of "Sexuality in the Academy: A Conference on Gay and Lesbian Studies," on January 29, 1994. This will be the third annual B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Awareness Day) conference hosted by Lawrence University's Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Awareness. Speakers will include Lawrence University professors and professors from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Yale University. Professors from Lawrence University will deliver informal presentation on the influence that Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual issues have on their fields. Topics will include, "Homosexual Elitism in James Merrill's Epic Trilogy," " Constructing and Deconstructing the Visual Language of Homosexuality: the Art of Charles Demuth and Robert Mapplethorpe," "Perceptions of the Masculine and Feminine: Accepting and Dispelling the Myths," "Sexual Orientation and the Curriculum: It's Time for Heterosexuals to Come Out of the Closet," and "Homosexualities in French Literature." These topics will be presented in the late morning and early afternoon. Christopher Lane will be speaking on "Controversies of the Sexual." He is an Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. He received his BA. in English Literature and Contemporary Philosophy from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, his MA. in Critical Theory from the University of Sussex, Brighton, and his Ph.D. in Modern British Literature from the University of London. He has published extensively, and his book, "The Ruling Passion: British Homosexual Allegories and the rhetoric of Colonial Fantasy" will be published by Duke University Press in 1995. He is the Curriculum Coordinator for the UWM Task Force on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues, and the Chair of the UWM Gay and Lesbian Studies Certificate Program Committee. Mr. Lane will be speaking in the late afternoon. Jonathan Weinberg will be delivering the keynote address, "Making It Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Presence in Art History." He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University. He received his BA. from Yale College and his Ph.D. from the Department of Fine Arts at Harvard University. He is a member of the College Art Association, Gay and Lesbian Caucus. He is also an associate editor of "Genders" published by the University of Texas Press. He has lectured widely and published in journals such as "Journal of Homosexuality," "Art in America," "Genders," and "Arts." His book, "Speaking for Vice: Homosexuality in the Art of Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, and the First American Avant-Garde," was just published by Yale University Press. He is also a practicing painter, and his work has been exhibited in the Yale University Art Gallery, the Montclair Art Museum, the Marissa del Rey Gallery in New York, and an exhibit curated by Henry Geldszahler at the Dia Foundation in Bridgehampton, Long Island. We will also present the movie "Poison." Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, "Poison" deftly interweaves three tales--"Hero," "Horror," and "Homo"--and builds toward a devastating climax. "Hero," shot in mock TV-documentary style, tells a bizarre story of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice; "Horror," filmed like a delirious '50s B-movie melodrama, is the gothic tale of a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague; while the lushly photographed "Homo" explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates. A runaway theatrical hit, which made national headlines and the network news when it was attacked by right-wing minister Donald Wildmon, "Poison" is unsettling, unforgettable, and thoroughly entertaining. "Poison" was directed by Todd Haynes. Due to the generous support of Lawrence University, the conference will be free and open to the public. Lawrence University has a limited number of guest-rooms available for those who wish to stay overnight. For more information on the conference, call (414)832-7170, fax (414)832-7695, e- mail: 90195@lawrence.edu, or write to: BGLA, c/o The Info Desk, PO. Box 599, Appleton, WI 54912.