In this conference, we examine trans in two different ways: as transgender theory and the prefix trans as a signifier of method. Transgender identities we understand as those that transcend gender categories, either by crossing between the binaries of masculine and feminine or existing outside the binary completely. Transgender theory integrates the embodiment of lived experiences with the negotiation of socially and individually constructed identities.
Our starting point is transgender theory because of the ways in which it has already modeled the transgressing of bodies and disciplinary categories we hope to engage at TTC this year. Our intention is to honor the work of transgender theorists by inviting conversation, first and foremost, on transgender identities, as well as other transgressive scholarship.
Operating at a nexus of identities, transgender theory invites us to consider the intersectionality of the social roles and locations that individuals and communities occupy in the world. Whether the bodies examined are individual, national, institutional, animal, or otherwise, we invite papers that inhabit non-binary and non-essentialist approaches to their lives and experiences. In addition to papers that engage various terrestrial trans bodies, we also invite papers that engage various divine trans bodies. Examples might include trans representation of the Jewish or Christian bodies of God, of Jesus’ bodies, of angelic or other heavenly bodies, or of beatified saintly bodies.
Steering Committee: Desmond D. Coleman, Lauren D. Sawyer, and Kelsey Erin Wallace
Website Art Credit: Artwork © Hunter Schafer, used with permission.
