Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick once pointed out the oddly superfluous, unintentionally revealing nature of the question, “Has there ever been a gay Shakespeare?” How might reframing this question around a queer Faulkner prove similarly generative and unnecessary? Taking its title, “Queer Faulkner,” as both a description and an imperative, the forty-ninth annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha conference will explore the diverse expressions, meanings, and functions of non-normative sexuality, gender, desire, and affiliation in William Faulkner’s life and work, tapping into the disciplinary ferment of queer and trans studies scholarship and the new paradigms and reading strategies it has established. In addition to four keynote lectures, the conference program will include panel presentations, guided daylong tours of North Mississippi and the Delta, and our ever-popular sessions on “Teaching Faulkner.”
The conference will begin on Sunday, July 23, with a reception at the University Museum, after which the academic program of the conference will open with a keynote address and the program’s first scholarly panel, followed by a buffet supper on the grounds of Faulkner’s home, Rowan Oak. Over the next four days, a busy schedule of lectures and panels will also make room for teaching sessions, a picnic served at Rowan Oak, guided tours, and a closing party on Thursday afternoon, July 27. Throughout the conference, the University’s J. D. Williams Library will display Faulkner books, manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia. The University Press of Mississippi will exhibit Faulkner books and titles of related interest published by university presses throughout the United States, and Faulkner collector Seth Berner will give a brown bag lunch presentation on “Collecting Faulkner.”
| 2023 | ||
| Sunday, July 23rd | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 PM |
Conference Attendees University Museums 1:00 PM |
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| 2:30 PM |
Jaime Harker, University of Mississippi Nutt Auditorium 2:30 PM |
|
| 4:00 PM |
Lisa Hinrichsen, University of Arkansas Nutt Auditorium 4:00 PM |
|
| 7:30 PM |
Rebecca Lauck Cleary, University of Mississippi Nutt Auditorium 7:30 PM |
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| Monday, July 24th | ||
| 9:00 AM |
Jennie Joiner, Keuka College Nutt Auditorium 9:00 AM |
|
| 10:30 AM |
Panel. Breaking The Binaries in Faulkner’s Fiction Astrid Maes, Université de Picardie Nutt Auditorium 10:30 AM |
|
| 12:00 PM |
Seth Berner, Berner Books Nutt Auditorium 12:00 PM |
|
| 2:00 PM |
Michael Bibler, Louisiana State University Nutt Auditorium 2:00 PM |
|
| 3:30 PM |
Panel. Spaces, Ecologies, Pedagogies Amy A. Foley, Providence College Nutt Auditorium 3:30 PM |
|
| Tuesday, July 25th | ||
| 8:30 AM |
Workshop. Queering Faulkner: Teaching Faulkner in an Age of Censorship Jaime Harker, University of Mississippi Location TBD 8:30 AM |
|
| 10:30 AM |
Panel. Comparatively Queer: Sexuality, Identity, and Experimentation in Faulkner and Beyond Bernard T. Joy Nutt Auditorium 10:30 AM |
|
| 12:00 PM |
Conference Attendees 12:00 PM |
|
| 2:00 PM |
Keynote Lecture: Black Trans Lives and the Limits of Queer Faulkner Phillip Gordon, University of Wisconsin, Platteville Nutt Auditorium 2:00 PM |
|
| 3:30 PM |
Margarita Cepele, Louisiana State University Nutt Auditorium 3:30 PM |
|
| Wednesday, July 26th | ||
| 9:00 AM |
Teaching and Learning Faulkner in the Digital Age Haley Albert-Tate, Cave City High School Career and Collegiate Preparatory School (Ark.) Nutt Auditorium 9:00 AM |
|
| 10:30 AM |
Panel. Eros and Intertextuality: Queering Faulkner’s Engagement with Antiquity Michael Gleason, Millsaps College Nutt Auditorium 10:30 AM |
|
| 12:30 PM |
Library Lecture. Same-Sex Couples in Mississippi: The Past and Today John Marsalek, Soouthern New Hampshire University Faulkner Room. Archives and Special Collections. J. D. Williams Library 12:30 PM |
|
| 2:00 PM |
Keynote Lecture. Swamps, Monsters, and Postage Stamps: Queer Southern Spatiality After Faulkner Heidi Siegrist, University of the South Nutt Auditorium 2:00 PM |
|
| 3:30 PM |
Davina Bell, University of North Dakota Nutt Auditorium 3:30 PM |
|
| 5:45 PM |
Conference Attendees University Museums 5:45 PM |
|
| 6:00 PM |
Conference Attendees Rowan Oak 6:00 PM |
|
| Thursday, July 27th | ||
| 9:00 AM |
Guided Tours of North Mississippi Jay Watson, University of Mississippi Inn at Ole Miss 9:00 AM |
|
| 5:30 PM |
Conference Attendees Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford 5:30 PM |
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