41st Annual Gender Studies Symposium

March 9–11, 2022

Fantasy

Thank you to everyone who participated in and attended this year’s Gender Studies Symposium.

Only the keynote events were recorded. To view those recordings, please consult the event listings on the schedule.

 

The 41st Annual Gender Studies Symposium will examine how gender and sexuality affect dynamics of fantasy, exploring transformative questions of intimacy, pleasure, and politics.

This year’s symposium asks why we fantasize and how fantasies affect our feelings of closeness to ourselves and others. How might fantasy foster intimacy in the absence of touch? Whose fantasies are attended to and whose are neglected? Where does fantasy move into fetish? How do fairy tales and other fantastic representations influence how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and our communities? What can we gain from fantasizing about desire, love, and healing? What kinds of intimacies are present within the speculative worlds we create?

We hope this year’s symposium inspires critical examination of the dichotomy between fantasy and reality. Where do the two overlap or blur into each other? In what ways does fantasy allow us to produce material change and pursue “impossible” futures?

We invite symposium participants to consider how fantasy is not only an act of personal imagination but also a powerful form of political resistance.

2021-22 student co-chairs:
Iyanah Fuller ’22, Carley LaPlaca ’22, and Hazel McGraw ’22

 

Most events will take place in person, with some events streamed for remote viewing.
Registration is not required for most events. Please see the schedule for complete information.
Per Lewis & Clark COVID policy, visitors are expected to show proof of vaccination (including a booster) or a negative COVID test conducted within the previous 72 hours.
Everyone is required to wear a KN-95, N-95, or equivalent mask.
Thank you for your effort to keep our community safe.