Downtown Lecture Series Update: The College of SBS is suspending the Downtown Lecture Series for 2023, regrouping around priorities in our strategic plan. Thanks to our donors and attendees for your decade of support! You can watch videos of previous lecture series. You can also learn about the amazing activities taking place in the college by subscribing to our Snapshots newsletter and visiting our SBS calendar.
October 12, 19, 26 & November 1 | 6:00 PM
Fox Tucson Theatre
Free with Registration
Talks will be livestreamed for those who can't attend in person!
The 2022 Downtown Lecture Series will focus on Sexualities, exploring the complex ways that gender and sexuality shape our lives, from the intimate to the institutional. Curated by anthropologist Eric Plemons, this year’s series will address the cultural impacts of drag performance, 19th-century sex scandals, reproductive justice, and how gender and sexuality are taught (or not taught) in schools.
Launched in 2013, the Downtown Lecture Series was created to bring the university and Tucson community together in vibrant downtown Tucson to learn about topics that relate to our everyday lives. Over the years, SBS faculty – along with university and community colleagues – have shared their expertise, adding both clarity and complexity to important and fascinating social topics. The series has focused on happiness, food, immortality, privacy, truth and trust in the global scene, music, animals, woman power, and compassion.
21st CENTURY DRAG: Queer Play from Social Media to Story Hour
Oct. 12 | Harris Kornstein
In this talk, Harris Kornstein, assistant professor of Public & Applied Humanities will discuss research into two of drag’s more recent frontiers: digital performances of identity via social media, and children’s story hours. Drawing on their own performance practice, Kornstein looks beyond discourses of gender or sexuality, and instead focuses on the ways drag disrupts binaries of truth and fiction, visibility and privacy, and pleasure and politics.
SEX, SCANDAL AND REPUTATION in Early California
Oct. 19 | Erika Pérez
In this talk, Erika Pérez, associate professor in the Department of Historywill discuss her ongoing research on sex scandals and sex crimes in 19th-century California, focusing on a few specific legal cases and newspaper accounts to illustrate popular debates and societal anxiety about female sexuality, courtship, and the absence of patriarchal protection. Pérez will also examine what lessons we might draw by studying historical, as well as more recent, cases of sex crimes, sex scandals, and abuse.
PERSONHOOD UNDER PATRIARCHY: Reproductive Justice in Arizona and Beyond
Oct. 26 | Louise Marie Roth
In this talk, Louise Marie Roth, professor in the School of Sociologywill explore legal cases and birth trends that illustrate the implications of fetus-centered and woman-centered approaches to pregnancy for evidence-based care during pregnancy, miscarriage, and birth. She will argue that an emphasis on fetal personhood has the effect of negating personhood for fertile women. An approach focusing on women, as well as others who can become pregnant, is necessary for reproductive justice, especially for poor people, youth, and people of color.
THE POWER OF STORIES: Talking about Gender and Sexuality in Schools
Nov. 1 | Carol Brochin
In this talk, Carol Brochin, associate professor in the College of Educationwill discuss the power of stories in transforming classrooms and communities. She argues that we need schools that are not just inclusive for LGBTQ+ students but are sites of critical transformation where everyone can experience joy in learning about each other and their communities. Drawing from theory and research, Brochin will examine practices that foster a deep commitment to social justice and a collective sense of care and understanding of all LGBTQ+ people. She will share stories from students, teachers, and books that cultivate a sense of belonging urgently needed during these trying times.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Barbara Starrett and Jo Ann Ellison
The Fox Tucson Theatre recommends that all patrons ages 5 and up be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before attending large-scale events. Also, regardless of vaccination status, all patrons should wear a mask while attending events at the Fox, except for short periods when actively eating or drinking. Please contact the Fox with any questions or for further information at foxinfo@foxtucson.com
Questions?
Contact us with questions about access or to request any disability-related accommodations that will facilitate your full participation in the Downtown Lecture Series such as ASL interpreting, CART captioning, captioned videos, Braille, wheelchair access, or electronic text, etc.
Contact us at sbs-communitymatters@arizona.edu
Catch up with our past lectures: