Lectures

Susan B. Anthony Keynote Address

The Susan B. Anthony Keynote Address is presented annually in conjunction with the Susan B. Anthony Institute’s International Graduate Student Research Conference. It addresses issues of gender and/or women from a scholarly perspective.

Past speakers:

  • 2017—Tavia Nyong'o, Yale University, "Decrypting Blackness: Assotto Saint with Gilles Deleuze"
  • 2016—Jasbir Puar, Rutgers University, "Debility/Disability: From Narrative Prosthesis to Disaster Capitalism"
  • 2015—Jin Haritaworn, York University, "Queer Regenerations: Transitioning Bodies in Transitioning Environments"
  • 2014—Qwo-Li Driskill, Oregon State University, "Doubleweaving Resistance: An Asegi Manifesto"
  • 2013—Julie A. Nelson, University of Massachusetts, Boston, " Work, Profit, and Care: Some Reflections From Feminist Economics"
  • 2012—Nancy Cott, Harvard University, “Feminism in Relation to the Past, Present, and Future”
  • 2011—Laura Kipnis, Northwestern University, “In Defense of Penis Envy, and Other Unsayables: Tarrying with the Unprogressive"

Two Icons Lecture

In the 2008/2009 academic year the Susan B. Anthony Institute and the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies inaugurated the annual Two Icons Lecture to explore the intersection of race and gender. The lecture honors the legacy of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, two iconic individuals based in Rochester whose deep commitment to civil rights and social justice changed the course of history.

Past speakers:

  • 2018—Bianca Williams, CUNY, "#HappinessisPolitical: Black Women, Diasporic Heart, and Journey of Emotional Wellness"
  • 2017—Zanele Muholi "Visual Activism: Photography, Identity, and Community Work"
  • 2016—Sikivu Huthison, UC Berkeley, "White Nights, Black Paradise: Black Women of the Peoples Temple Movement, The Culture and Politics of the Jonestown Era, and The Problem of Organized Religion.
  • 2015—Alondra Nelson, Columbia University,"A Portal to the Past, A Beacon for the Future: DNA and the Politics of Racial Reconciliation"
  • 2014—Jennifer Harvey, Drake University, "Framing Ferguson: Religious Faith, Righteous Feminists, and Holy Fire"
  • 2013—Duchess Harris, Macalester University, "The Political History of Contemporary Black "Feminism"
  • 2012—Michelle Gordon, University of Southern California, "'Baby, You Could Be Jesus in Drag': Lorraine Hansberry and Black Domestic Workers on Being The Help"
  • 2011—Hershini Young, University of Buffalo, “Making Merciful Space: Performance Geography in Jeremy Love’s Bayou, Vol. 1”
  • 2010—Michele Mitchell, New York University, “Entirely Too Idle? African American Women, Gender, and Sexuality During the Great Depression”
  • 2009—Khalilah Brown-Dean, Yale University, “Identity Politics in the Age of Obama”

Rainbow Lecture

The Rainbow Lecture was inaugurated in 2012 to address LGBTQI topics from a scholarly perspective.  It is presented annually during LGBTQI Awareness Month at the University of Rochester.

Past speakers:

  • 2019—Greta LaFleur, Yale University, "Toward an Environmental Theory of Early Sexuality"
  • 2018—Jack Halberstam, Columbia University "Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Guide to Gender Variability"
  • 2017—William Cheng, Dartmouth College, "Locker Room Talk: Pussies, Guns, and Video Gaymers"
  • 2016—Kathryn Lofton, Yale University, "State Secrets, Gay Marriage, and The Morning-After Pill: Conscience in the Age of Corporate Religious Freedom"
  • 2015—Ann Pellegrini, New York University, "Protesting Death, Queer Mourning"
  • 2014—Kristen Renn, University of Michigan, "Creating Environments for LGBTQ College Student Success"
  • 2013—Rev. Patrick Cheng, Episcopal Divinity School,"Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit"
  • 2012—William Eskridge, Jr., Yale University Law School: “The Long Road to Marriage Equality, 1970-2012 and Beyond”