Gender Jawn

McKenzie Wark is professor of Culture and Media at the New School, Eugene Lang College and the author of over 10 books. Her memoir Love and Money, Sex and Death was published in September 2023 by Verso Press, and her other recent writing moves at the nexus of trans studies, autotheory and autofiction, including Rave (Duke UP, 2023), Philosophy for Spiders: on the low theory of Kathy Acker (Duke UP, 2021). We discuss her prolific contributions to trans studies, trans literature, Marxist theory, critical theory and philosophy.

In this episode, FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks to professor Perry Zurn. Zurn Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University, Fellow at Cornell University’s Society for the Humanities (‘23-’24) and a Visiting Scholar at the FQT at Penn. He is the author of Curiosity and Power: The Politics of Inquiry (UMinn, 2021), and co-editor of Trans Philosophy (forthcoming UMinn, 2024), and Active Intolerance: Michel Foucault, the Prisons Information Group, and the Future of Abolition (Springer, 2016), among other edited and co-authored volumes, as well as copious articles. In the interview Zurn upacks a transnational genealogy of the term cis, it's pre-history, and limits and potentials. Zurn also discusses the philosophical iterinary of curiousity, how the concept has morphed and transmuted over time.

In this episode FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with Professor of Gender Studies and English at Columbia University, Jack Halberstam about his latest book, Wild Things: The Disorder of Desire and his prolific writing in queer theory, trans studies and cultural studies. This episode includes a musical clip from "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak as narrated by Tammy Grimes.

In this episode FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with the luminary and accomplished filmmaker, director and producer Lilly Wachowski. Lilly Wachowski discusses some her most influential and heralded films, such as The Matrix, which she co-directed and filmed with her sister, filmmaker Lana Wachowski, as well as recent work she has been involved in either writing, directing and/or producing such as the Netflix series Sense8, and also the Showtime series Work in Progress, created by Abby McEnany and Tim Mason. Lilly Wachowski discusses trans politics, and the power of art to transform, forge bonds of solidarity, and create convivial spaces.

In this episode (recorded fall 2023) FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with Judith Butler, who is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature, and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. Butler discusses their now published book Who's Afraid of Gender? (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024), their extensive scholarship, including on the politics of loss and mourning, grief and grievance.

In this episode of the Gender Jawn podcast, FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with poet, professor and "intellectual cabaret" performer extraordinaire Wayne Koestenbaum about his conception of "fag ideation," queer theory, art, poetics, and Koestenbaum's rich body of work. Also discussed is Koestenbaum's newest book of poetry, Stubble Archipelago just recently published by Semiotexte Press. Koestenbaum closes the interview by reading a selection from Subble Archipelago, a poem titled "#34 [Two quartered radishes], currently featured in The Yale Review.

In this episode Che Gossett, associate director of The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies, speaks with UC Davis assistant professor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Christoph Hanssmann about his book Care Without Pathology: How Trans- Health Activists Are Changing Medicine (University of Minnesota Press, 2023). Professor Hanssman discusses transnational trans health and justice organizing and trans histories of medicine.

In this episode FQT Associate Director Che Gossett speaks with William Lampson Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at Yale University: Tavia Nyong'o. Nyong'o is the author of The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory (University of Minnesota Press, 2009), and most recently, Afro-Fabulations: The Queer Drama of Black Life (NYU Press, 2018). Gossett speaks with Nyong'o about blackness, queerness, the Zora Neale Hurston inspired concept of "angular sociality," and the role of what Nyong'o terms -- extending psychoanalytic interventions -- "critical ambivalence." Writers and/or works referenced: James Baldwin and Audre Lorde "Revolutionary Hope: A Conversation between James Baldwin and Audre Lorde" (1984) http://theculture.forharriet.com/2014/03/revolutionary-hope-conversation-between.html Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism (Duke University Press, 2011), On the Inconvenience of Other People (Duke University Press, 2022) Samuel Delany, The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village (University of Minnesota Press, 1988) Erica R. Edwards Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership (University of Minnesota Press, 2012) Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and men (New York: Perennial Library, 1935), Their Eyes Were Watching God (Amistad, Harper Perennial, 1937), Baracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" (Amistad, Harper Perennial Reprint, 2018) Cindy Patton, Inventing AIDS (Routledge Press, 1990), Globalizing AIDS (University of Minnesota, 2002) Rustin (film, 2023) Eve Sedgwick, Epistemology of the Closet (UC Berkeley Press, 1990), Touching Feeling (Duke University Press, 2003) Jackie Stacey, "Wishing Away Ambivalence," Feminist Theory, 2014, Vol. 15(I) 39-49 Antonio Viego, Dead Subjects: Towards a Politics of Loss in Latino Studies (Duke University Press, 2007)

In this episode FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with philosopher Brian Massumi, whom is professor of communication at the University of Montreal, about affect studies, critical theory, the work of Gilles Deleuze and Alfred North Whitehead, and process philosophy. Massumi is the author of Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation (Duke UP, 2002) and most recently, Couplets: Travels in Speculative Pragmatism (Duke UP, 2021), as well as many other texts, several co-written with his companion in art and thought, Erin Manning, professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University (Montreal).

In this episode FQT Center associate director Che Gossett speaks with trans historian and John Hopkins University professor Jules Gill-Peterson, author of Histories of the Transgender Child (University of Minnesota Press, 2018), which received a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction and the Children’s Literature Association Book Award. Gill-Peterson is also the author of A Short History of Trans Misogyny (Verso Press, 2024). Gill-Peterson speaks about both of these texts and also in process work on DIY trans community care.

In this episode FQT associate director Che Gossett speaks with Yale University Professor Daphne Brooks about her newest book, Liner Notes: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound (Harvard UP, 2021) -- winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- about Black feminist archives, music history, and Beyonce's brilliance. Music Credits: Koko by Charlie Parker (1945) I Wish it Would Rain by The Temptations (1967) I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 (1969) The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand (1987) I Write the Songs by Barry Manilow (1977) Let's Stay Together by Al Green (1972) I'll Be Around by the Spinners (1972) Oh Bondage! Up Yours! by X-Ray Spex (1977) London Calling by The Clash (1979) Message in a Bottle by The Police (1979) There Stands a Bluebird by Zora Neale Hurston (1936) Lawdy Lawdy Blues by Ida Cox (1961) Don't Hurt Yourself by Beyonce (2016)

In this interview Che Gossett speaks with Maggie Nelson -- poet, writer, 2016 MacArthur fellow, and professor of English at the University of California -- about her newest book, On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint (Random House, 2021) and many other works of poetry and prose. Also mentioned in the episode are poets and writer Eileen Myles and poet and NYU professor, Fred Moten.

The first episode of the 2023-2024 academic year, September's Gender Jawn podcast features an engaging and dynamic conversation with Kate Scott, the play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the Seattle Seahawks, who is also the first woman play-by-play caster in Philadelphia's history. Scott has called play-by-plays for NHL, NFL and the Olympics, as well as the 2023 World Cup. In conversation with Dr. Maria Murphy, Scott discusses the implications of being a first, the politics of sports, inclusion, queerness, visibility, and identity. For more about Scott's prolific and impactful work, see: https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/kate-scott-sixers-fox-womens-world-cup-announcers-20230608.html

December’s edition of Gender Jawn features a two-part series on housing issues facing Philadelphians. Part-one featured a discussion with Akira Drake Rodriguez on saving the UC Townhomes and Jane Allen on the Whole Home Repair Program. In part two, Gwendolyn Beetham considers how home ownership has been plagued by discriminatory lending practices and how homeowners can support queer, trans, and POC laborers in the trades. She speaks with Kathleen Riley and Kelly Ireland, aka “Tiny Plumber Girl,” about representation in the trades, maintaining accessible housing prices, and supporting long-time residents in west Philly. Kelly Ireland Instagram page Handy Dandy Home Services Instagram page Women in Nontraditional Careers (WINC) “These Queer Handyworkers Want to Make Your Life Easier,” Autostraddle July 14, 2022: Ta-Nehisi Coats. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic, June 2014 Aaron Glantz and Emmanuel Martinez. “Kept Out: For people of color, banks are closing the door to home ownership”. Reveal, February 15, 2018 Alliance for Housing Justice Juliana Feliciano Reyes, Broken Rung, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 30, 2022 Original music by David Chavannes: www.dchavannes.com For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu

December’s edition of Gender Jawn features a two-part series on housing issues facing Philadelphians. In part one, Maria Murphy speaks with Akira Drake Rodriguez about saving the UC Townhomes and Penn’s role in the destabilization of west Philly and the displacement of its residents. Jane Allen, Policy Director for the Office of State Senator Nikil Saval, shares the goals for the Whole Homes Repair Program, which aims to help keep Pennsylvanians in their homes by providing support for essential home repairs. Save the UC Townhomes DEMAND PENN STOP PUNISHING PEACEFUL PROTESTERS PETITION The Case for PILOTs at Penn Applications for the Whole-Home Repairs Program are coming Spring/Summer 2023: Whole Home Repairs Program Original music by David Chavannes: www.dchavannes.com For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu

November’s episode features a discussion on the politics of laughter with Delia Casadei, Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California Berkeley. Gender Jawn host Maria Murphy and Casadei discuss the social reproductive labor of laughter, how laughter articulates political unknowns, the Feminist killjoy practice of withholding the social reproductive labor of laughing, and laughter that renders unrecognized labor audible. Maya Angelou’s “We Wear the Mask” Episode produced by Tamir Williams Podcast original music by David Chavannes For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu

Penn community members Serena Mayeri, Carol Tracy, Antoilyn Nguyen, and Alicia Meyer comment on the recent Dobbs ruling that overturned the nearly 50 year precedent of the constitutional right to an abortion. This ep also features excerpts from the work of SaraEllen Strongman, Dorothy Roberts, and Jessa Lingel. Resources mentioned in this ep: Center for Reproductive Rights Our Data Bodies Tech Learning Collective Electronic Frontier Foundation Penn-specific resources: Penn Reproductive Justice Working Group Penn Association for Gender Equality (PAGE) Penn Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health Penn If/When/How: Lawyering For Reproductive Justice SaraEllen Strongman’s Washington Post article “Despite antiabortion campaigns, Black feminists support abortion rights” Dorothy Roberts’ new book Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World Jessa Lingel in Penn Today article on privacy post-Roe Podcast original music by David Chavannes For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu

In this last episode on this year’s theme, "Care for the Future," Tamir Williams speaks with Rachel Kauder Nalebuff about her genre-bending book Stages: On dying, working, and feeling. Kauder discusses her experience as an artist-in-residence at an elder care facility in the Bronx, NYC; the lessons she learned from staff members at the nursing home about dying, grief, time, and caregiving; and her expansive dreams for what end of life carework systems could look like in the future. You can purchase Stages directly from Thick Press. And you can pre-order her forthcoming Our Red Book. A recording of the theatrical production that Nalebuff created with staff members at the elder care facility is available. Episode produced by Tamir Williams. Original music by David Chavannes: www.dchavannes.com. For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu.

In this episode, the second on this year’s theme, Care for the Future, Gwendolyn Beetham and Tamir Williams speak with Hil Malatino about his books Trans Care and Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad. Malatino discusses how his work on care draws from and expands upon the genealogy of feminist work on care ethics and why we should examine not only the positive, but also the negative affects of trans lives - from burnout, to fatigue, to numbness. Malatino also provides an account of the state of Trans Studies today, pointing to the continued marginalization of trans scholars and Trans Studies in the academy. Citing the recent - and nationwide - attacks on trans rights, the episode concludes with a call to provide extensive support for Trans Studies now. Check out Trans Care and Side Affects: On Beings Trans and Feeling Bad, both from University of Minnesota Press, as well as the most recent edition of Transgender Studies Quarterly, The t4t Issue, edited by Cameron Awkward-Rich and Hil Malatino. You can attend the Side Affects book launch on Tuesday April 12th at 7pm ET. Episode produced by Tamir Williams. Original music by David Chavannes: www.dchavannes.com. For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu.

This episode recognizes the fortieth anniversary of two landmark publications for BIPOC queer feminist writing, This Bridge Called My Back and But Some of Us Are Brave—volumes whose foundational insights on the mutual formation of gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, environment, slavery, and colonialism have often been excluded from queer theory’s traditional genealogies. As part of the Center’s programming theme Care for the Future, invited speakers reflected on these two texts. Kandice Chuh speaks about the ways we are compelled to begin with “we,” and how This Bridge Called My Back asks how and by what means we can be responsible to and for each other--embracing crowdedness despite neoliberal logics of individuality and privatization. Christina León examines positionality as part of doing the work of Bridge and pedagogies of dissent. Amber Musser discusses knowledge made possible by a robust engagement with flesh, putting forth a fleshy methodology for women of color feminism to think about situatedness as a mode of repair and possibilities for brown jouissance. Rod Ferguson shares his relationship with these texts in terms of models for using writing to imagine alternative worlds and institutions and Erica Edwards centers care in foundational queer feminist writing, refusing inclusion on the terms of the established order of women’s rights and as a result, women’s studies. Check out the full event recordings from this series on the FQT/GSWS YouTube channel. Episode produced by Tamir Williams. Original music by David Chavannes: www.dchavannes.com For more information about the Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies visit www.gsws.sas.upenn.edu