Events

Trans* lives, histories and activism

Hosted by the Department of Gender Studies and Department of International History

In-person and online public event (LSE campus, venue TBC to ticketholders)

Speakers

Professor Susan Stryker

Dr Onni Gust

Discussant

Dr SM Rodriguez

Dr SM Rodriguez

Discussant

Chair

Dr Emrah Karakuş

Dr Emrah Karakuş

Join us for an evening with Susan Stryker, a pioneering historian and theorist in trans* studies whose work has profoundly reshaped the fields of gender and sexuality scholarship.

Stryker stands as both an intellectual cornerstone and a leader in activism, shedding light on the historical and contemporary realities of trans lives and challenging the rigid structures that enforce binary notions of gender and power. In an era where anti-gender and right-wing populist ideologies dominate global agendas, Stryker’s scholarship urges us to critically interrogate the roots of oppressive ideologies that have long subjugated knowledge and enforced exclusionary worldviews, especially against marginalized communities. This public lecture celebrates Stryker’s profound contributions seeking to inspire continued activism and scholarly inquiry. It is a call to action for scholars, activists, and the broader public to challenge and dismantle oppressive systems while expanding the horizons of critical thought and action in the ever-evolving field of gender studies.

Meet our speakers and chair

Susan Stryker (@susanstryker) is the Professor Emerita of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona. She is the author of Transgender History, co-editor of The Transgender Studies Reader, co-founder of TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, as well as co-director of the Emmy-winning documentary film Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria. She currently holds a Distinguished Visiting Professor appointment at Stanford University's Michelle Clayman Institute for Gender Research.

Onni Gust (@onni_gust) is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham. Onni is a cultural and intellectual historian of the British Empire in the 'long' eighteenth century (c. 1730-1830). Their research asks what it means to be human and how the boundaries of the human and non-human animal were constructed in the 18th century. In particular, they look at the relationship between European colonial expansion, ideas of a male/female sex binary, and the meaning of the human.

S.M. Rodriguez (@SM_Rodriguez77) is scholar-activist and Assistant Professor of Gender, Rights and Human Rights at LSE. Their research advances the understanding of the impact of racialisation, criminalisation, ableism, and the imposition of gendered and sexual control on people of African descent.

Emrah Karakuş is an LSE fellow in gender and human rights and a sociocultural anthropologist whose work explores affective politics, queer intimacy, and political violence in the Middle East. He is currently working on his book project, Feeling Debt: Affective Politics of Security and Intimacy in Kurdish Turkey, and his work appeared in peer-reviewed journals including American Ethnologist, Anthropology Today, and Kurdish Studies.

More about this event

This event will be available to watch on LSE Live. LSE Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of Gender Studies (@LSEGenderTweet) pioneers intersectional, interdisciplinary and transnational teaching and research, addressing the tenacity of gendered power relations and gendered inequalities in times of global transformations. Established in 1993, LSE Gender is the largest Department of Gender Studies in Europe.

The Department of International History (@lsehistory) is one of the world’s leading centres for historical study and research. Founded in 1954, the Department’s acknowledged and long-established research and teaching strengths are reflected in the breadth and range of its coverage from the early modern to the contemporary era. 

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This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience. 

For the in-person event: Members of the public, LSE students, staff and alumni can request one ticket via the online ticket request form which will be live on this listing after 10am on Wednesday 5 February until at least 12noon on Thursday 6 February. If after this time we have received more requests than there are tickets available, the line will be closed, and tickets will be allocated on a random basis to those requests received. If we have received fewer requests than tickets available, the ticket line will stay open until all tickets have been allocated. You will be notified within 2 working days whether your ticket request has been successful.

For the online event: Registration for this event will open in the second half of January.

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