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Guest Lecture by Professor Karla Jay, Monday October 12, 1998, 4 PM, Sewall 309

Inquiries, the queer theory study group at Rice, invites you to a lecture by Karla Jay on Monday, October 12, at 4 pm in Sewall Hall 309. Jay's lecture, "In Theory and in Practice, But Not in Deed," concerns the relation between academic queer theory and grassroots political activity.

"In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, theoretical approaches to homosexuality coincided with the ways in which gay men and lesbians conceptualized themselves. Beginning with the Stonewall uprisings and the development of the Gay Academic Union in 1973, the preoccupations and beliefs of gay theorists began to diverge dramatically from the people in the streets. Are we ahead of -- or actually behind -- the curve? Do we need to be in step with the broader movement? What happens when we try to reshape history to fit theory?"

Professor Jay is Director of Women's Studies and Professor of English at Pace University in New York City. Her many books include "The Lavender Menace: A Memoir," "Ten Decades of Struggle: A Retrospective of Gay and Lesbian Life in the Twentieth Century," "Dyke Life," "Lesbian Erotics," "Lavender Culture," "Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation," "Lesbian Texts and Contexts," "The Amazon and the Page: Natalie Clifford Barney and Renee Vivien," "The Gay Report," and "After You're Out: Personal Experiences of Gay Men and Lesbian Women."

 

Brunch with Karla Jay, Ocotber 11, 1998

In addition to the lecture on Monday, Professor Jay will also be conducting an informal discussion of her forthcoming book, "The Lavender Menace Speaks Out" on Sunday afternoon, October 11, at the Daily Review Cafe, from 1 to 2:30 pm. The Daily Review Cafe is located 3412 West Lamar Street (at the corner of W. Lamar and Dunlavy Streets).

Jay's memoir traces her evolution from a nice Jewish girl from Booklyn to a radical lesbian/feminist.

 

Her transformation began with her participation in the Columbia University student uprisings in 1968. Later, she was an early member of Redstockings (a Marxist feminist group that developed consciousness raising), the New York Gay Liberation Front (of which she was the first woman chair), and the Lavender Menace (which later became Radicalesbians). Her account of seizing corporations and conferences and organizing demonstrations has been described by prepublication readers as "poignant" and "hilarious." This talk contextualizes the formation of political actions and the reinvention of historical events to suit contemporary political agendas.

Opening Meeting, September 20, 1998, 6:30 PM @ Rice Coffee House