Registration now open for a special, virtual undergraduate seminar- "At the Intersections: Race, Gender, Sexuality, Representation" 

Led by Professor Lewis (Women and Gender Studies, Mason) and Professor Jones (Philosophy, Mason)

Registration now open for a special, virtual undergraduate seminar- "At the Intersections: Race, Gender, Sexuality, Representation" 
Dear Undergraduate Students, 
 
We’re thrilled to announce a unique opportunity for you. This semester, on April 7-8th, Mason's Center for Humanities Research (CHR) will hold its first annual symposium on the topic of “Pasts/Presents/Futures,” which has been our theme for this academic year. This virtual symposium will bring together scholars, including graduate students and faculty at Mason and other universities, working on temporality; each will present a paper on their research.  One of the highlights of the symposium will be a keynote address by Professor Kara Keeling (Film and Media Studies, University of Chicago).
 
Here’s where you come in: 
 
There will be a special virtual seminar for undergraduates entitled "At the Intersections: Race, Gender, Sexuality, Representation" for those who would like to dive into Professor Keeling’s work! In March, there will be two hour-long sessions with Professor Lewis (Women and Gender Studies, Mason) and Professor Jones (Philosophy, Mason), during which you will work through Professor Keeling’s important ideas. On April 7th, you will attend the symposium’s keynote address, given by Professor Keeling, which will give you the opportunity to hear about their most current work. The final session of your seminar will be an hour-long meeting on April 8th with Professor Keeling (and Professors Lewis and Jones), just for your seminar group.  
 
Professor Keeling, a scholar of film, critical theory, and cultural studies, researches representations of race, sexuality, and gender in cinema. Their most recent monograph, Queer Times, Black Futures, explores how the speculative fictions of cinema, music, and literature that center Black existence provide scenarios wherein we might imagine alternatives to racial capitalism, queer and otherwise. Keeling’s first book, The Witch's Flight: The Cinematic, the Black Femme, and the Image of Common Sense, likewise considers the role of cinematic images in naturalizing our conceptions of our world in order to interrogate the complex relationships between cinematic visibility and minority politics.
 
Students who participate in this workshop will receive a Humanities Scholar micro-credential badge from the university. The symposium seminar will meet virtually on three Fridays; to receive a badge, you must attend all three sessions AND Professor Keeling’s keynote address (see schedule below). For the preparatory sessions, students will need to read a piece by Professor Keeling and watch a documentary, but there is no written work. 
 
The two preparatory sessions will equip you to engage with Professor Keeling and their work:
  • In the first session, Professor Lewis and Professor Jones will provide an introduction to the theoretical frameworks that Professor Keeling draws on, including queer of color critique.  
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  • The second session will focus on Professor Keeling’s analysis of Daniel Peddle’s documentary film The Aggressives (2005) to explore the limits and possibilities of black queer representation. We will also discuss Keeling’s article, “Looking for M--- Queer Temporality, Black Political Possibility, and Poetry from the Future” and ask why it matters that Keeling asks, “When is M---?” instead of “Where is M---?”.
Session Dates:  
 
Friday, March 11, 2022, 11 am - 12 pm: first preparatory session
 
Friday, March 25, 2022, 11 am - 12 pm: second preparatory session
 
Thursday, April 7, 2022, 5 - 6 pm Professor Keeling's keynote address
 
Friday, April 8, 2022, 12:30 - 1:30 pm: final session- seminar meeting with Professor Keeling  
 
Please fill out this form if you would like to participate.
 
We hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity!
 
Best wishes,
 
Alison Landsberg (Director, CHR)
Catherine Olien (Associate Director, CHR)