The ninth annual Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture in Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights will feature Kathryn Bond Stockton, Distinguished Professor of English, former Associate Vice President for Equity and Diversity, and former inaugural Dean of the School for Cultural & Social Transformation at the University of Utah.

About the lecture

Contemporary organized backlash against queer children demands our canniest replies.  Entire systems sit upon apparently naturalized categories  (“gay,” “straight,” “trans,” “cis,” “girl,” “boy”). Even when unacknowledged, gender is strange for each and every one of us—though in tellingly distinctive ways.

Weaving memoir through new ideas, this talk engages gender’s strangeness, stretching what we think we know about matters surrounding genitals, clothing, and kissing—even reading—as they relate to children. It also considers how race and religion undermine the notion of “two sexes.” What kinds of issues for everyone’s childhood—and adulthood—turn around dynamics for gay and trans kids? Prepare to enter a story that is yours. It holds key questions for social justice and human flourishing.

After the lecture, Stockton will engage in lively conversation with Jo Hsu, assistant professor of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin.