OSL Symposium: ‘Genre and Gender Bending in Trans* Literature’

THE SYMPOSIUM IS FULLY BOOKED, please send an e-mail with your with your name, affiliation, status (ReMA, PhD, other) and research school membership to osl@rug.nl. We will put you on our waiting list.

In this symposium we propose to examine the bending of gender and genre in recently published works of fiction written by trans* authors. The keynote lectures will present novel methodological frameworks and theoretical concepts for the analysis of such texts, allowing students to study their transcending character. During the panel round, several researchers in the Netherlands and beyond will be invited to talk about their current projects. During the workshop, we will study four texts in detail – applying the newly acquired knowledge and insights: Akwaeke Emezi, Dear Senthuran (2021); Andrea Lawlor, Paul takes the Form of a Mortal Girl (2017); Torrey Peters, Detransition Baby (2021); and Jordy Rosenberg, Confessions of the Fox (2018). Different variants of the beyond-the-binary model will be explored as well as the concept of intersectionality as a basis for trans feminism, which concerns both trans-specific oppression and sexist oppression, as Emi Koyama has argued in “Whose Feminism Is It Anyway? The Unspoken Racism of the TransInclusion Debate” (2006). Finally, a reflection on the much-criticized “trapped in the wrong body discourse” will allow for an exploration of the bodily matter of sexual difference, as well as possible alternatives.

Preliminary programme:

9.30: Coffee & tea, welcome

10.00: Miles Tanhira (Transgender Europe):  “Transdiverse – Exploring allyships between academia and activism” 

11.15: Break

11.45: Prof. dr. Eliza Steinbock (Maastricht University): “Trans Study”

13.00: Lunch break

14.00: Literary Analysis Workshop by Jeanette den Toonder, Ester Jiresch and Judith Jansma (University of Groningen)

16.30: Concluding remarks

17.00: Drinks