Whom do you teach? On Poor Queer Studies by Matt Brim (THURS, April 14, 3pm EDT)
Dear friends,
Thanks to all who joined us for our most recent session.
We talked about the connections between capitalism/precarious funding and the restricting of academic freedom, the US’s tendency toward exceptionalism, and the challenges of thinking critically about the language we use in moments of conflict when complexities can so easily be flattened. The conversation pushed my thinking and opened my understanding to a wider range of international contexts.
I wanted to share two texts that have come across my path since then, both via my friend Meghan Vicks (who has joined many of our Inkcap discussions). The first is Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine, a 2017 poetry collection edited by Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinsky. The second is Letter from Kyiv: to keep from weeping, we start cursing by Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, a powerful reflection on language, emotion, and violence in the context of the current landscape in Ukraine.
Next Session
Shifting gears—I hope you’ll join us on Thursday, April 14 at 3pm EDT for our next session. Note the new time! Please register here.
I’m delighted that Poor Queer Studies author Matt Brim will be able to join us for the discussion of his book, so you won’t want to miss it! We’ll focus especially on chapter 4, “Poor Queer Studies Mothers”. I also recommend reading the introduction to contextualize the text, and of course the whole thing is excellent if you’re up for digging in more deeply.
Matt and I co-taught a graduate course in spring 2021 that included discussion of his book (as well as mine) in a context of equity, elitism, and public higher ed. One thing to consider as you read these chapters is a question that Matt asked our students: whom do you teach? This may include teaching in the classroom sense, but not only that. How does your thinking seep into conversations with your friends, your kids, your loved ones? How does it change the way you interact with the world?
I’ve gotten permission from one of our remarkable students, Janan Shouhayib, to share her blog post reflecting on chapter 4. I hope it sparks some new thoughts and questions as you read.
Odds and Ends
Looking ahead, mark your calendars for our May session: Tuesday, May 10, 2pm EDT. We’ll discuss “Attunement in the Cracks: Feminist Collaboration and the University as Broken Machine”, a dialogue between Natalie Loveless and Inkcap regular Carrie Smith, as well as the intro to How to Make Art at the End of the World (also by Natalie Loveless).
I’d love to keep these conversations going through the summer, and am wondering what feels like a good rhythm for that time of year when the pace tends to slow down a bit. Do we want to try something asynchronous? Or spend more time exploring a single book? I’d love to hear ideas.
Sending everyone warmest thoughts for a restorative weekend, and hope to see many of you on April 14.
—Katina
