The Department of Religion and Classics presents the second part of a six part series: Conversations on Israel, Palestine, and the War in Gaza. Sa'ed Atshan in conversation with Stefanie Dunning. Virtual event link: https://rochester.zoom.us/j/99085409966.

From Ramallah to New York, Tel Aviv to Porto Alegre, people around the world celebrate a formidable, transnational Palestinian LGBTQ social movement. Solidarity with Palestinians has become a salient domain of global queer politics. Yet LGBTQ Palestinians, even as they fight patriarchy and imperialism, are themselves subjected to an "empire of critique" from Israeli and Palestinian institutions, Western academics, journalists and filmmakers, and even fellow activists. Such global criticism has limited growth and led to an emphasis within the movement on anti-imperialism over the struggle against homophobia.

With this book, Sa'ed Atshan asks how transnational progressive social movements can balance struggles for liberation along more than one axis. He explores critical junctures in the history of Palestinian LGBTQ activism, revealing the queer Palestinian spirit of agency, defiance, and creativity, in the face of daunting pressures and forces working to constrict it. Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique explores the necessity of connecting the struggles for Palestinian freedom with the struggle against homophobia.

Dr. Sa'ed Atshan is Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He has previously served as an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Emory University, as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Senior Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. He earned a PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies and MA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and BA from Swarthmore College. Atshan is the author of Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique (Stanford University Press, 2020), coauthor (with Katharina Galor) of The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians (Duke University Press, 2020), and coeditor (with Galor) of Reel Gender: Palestinian and Israeli Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2022).

Stefanie K. Dunning is the Director of the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester. She is a graduate of Spelman College and the University of California, Riverside, and a Ford Fellow. She is author of Queer in Black and White: Interraciality , Same Sex Desire, and Contemporary African American Culture. Her work has been published in African American Review, MELUS, Signs, and several other journals and anthologies. She sometimes publishes under the pen name Zeffie Gaines.

This year-long speaker series is designed to foster intellectual growth and enrich the campus community, particularly in the wake of last year's campus conflicts regarding Israel and Palestine. Recognizing the need for more open dialogue and a deeper understanding of complex issues, we seek to create a space for respectful discussion, critical thinking, and a broadening of perspectives. These topics, often deeply personal and emotionally charged, can be difficult to navigate, but the series aims to provide a platform for exploring them with empathy, understanding, and a commitment to informed discourse. By inviting renowned experts from various fields we hope to stimulate thought-provoking conversations, challenge prevailing perspectives, and elevate the overall level of discourse on campus.

A reception will follow the event.  Parking passes are available for Library Lot at the welcome kiosk at the main entrance to campus on Elmwood Avenue.

Sponsored by the Department of Religion & Classics and the Center for Jewish Studies.