Conference on Queer Thoughts

Queer Thoughts

A Conference organized by Sappho for Equality

10 – 11 April 2009

Kolkata

Queer Thoughts is a conference organized by Sappho for Equality encouraging young persons all over India to come up with their thoughts, ideas, concerns, analyses and expressions on the theme ‘Queer’.

Sappho for Equality is an organization engaged in sexuality rights movement in general and LBT rights movement in particular. It is an open forum for activists who believe in and strive to attain a world free from homophobia and sexual orientation based discrimination.

Queer Thoughts is envisaged as a two-day conference divided into four sessions. Each session would have a distinct key theme and 2/3 papers on each theme will be presented in the sessions.

The four key themes are:

1. Defining queer (how to define the term queer, who is a queer, socio-political and gender-sexual understanding of queer)
2. Living queer (living as a queer in this country, queer experiences, triumph and turbulence of queer existence)
3. Expressing queer (queer as a theme expressed though literature, film, theatre, painting, sculpture or any other art form)
4. Politicizing queer (emergence of queer politics, queer as a political identity, queer rights movement and its politics)

Each of these sessions will be chaired by noted personalities, nationally and internationally acclaimed academicians and activists engaged in queer studies and queer rights movement.

Queer Thoughts as a space primarily for young persons will generate many fresh, dynamic, path breaking and stimulating ideas, discussions and action points. Sappho for Equality expects to bring out new, thought provoking and challenging concepts on the theme ‘queer’ through this conference that if incorporated, will help the queer rights movement.

We invite original, interesting and substantial papers, within 3000 words, from young persons between 20 to 28 years on any of the four key themes indicated above. An abstract of approximately 300 words should be emailed to sappho1999@rediffmail.com by 15^th of March, 2009. Those whose abstracts are selected will be invited to present papers at the conference. Please attach short curriculum vitae along with the abstract and contact numbers. Papers should be in English only. Outstation participants will be provided with train fare (to and fro) and board and lodging in the city for the conference days.

Sappho, Support Group for Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Women