TORONTO, March 12, 1997: York University will host a conference called "Queer Nation?" that will examine gay and lesbian issues within the context of the Canadian identity, from Thursday, March 13 through Sunday, March 16.

The conference, which is sponsored by the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University, will feature about 60 academics from across the country in lectures, panel discussions, and films. The Robarts Centre promotes and supports interdisciplinary and disciplinary research pertinent to the study of Canada.

"I believe this is the first academic conference to focus specifically on the possible intersections between gay and lesbian identities and Canadian identities," said York University English professor Terry Goldie, the conference organizer and this year's holder of the Robarts Chair.

"Although there have been conferences on gay and lesbian issues in Canada, the focus on Canada has been partial at best," Goldie said. "This conference will emphasize the Canadian element to a much greater extent than ever before."

Laurentian University sociology professor Gary Kinsman, author of the book The Regulation of Desire -- widely considered to be the best and most extensive resource book on gay and lesbian history in Canada -- will lead off the keynote addresses on Friday, March 14. Kinsman will speak on "Challenging Canadian and Queer Nationalism: Queers as National Security Risks and Struggles for National Self-Determination in the Canadian State." English professor Robert K. Martin of the Universite) de Montreal is Friday's second keynote speaker. Martin will speak on "The Countess and the Ouananiche: The Performance of Quebecois Identity in Michel Marc Bouchard's Les Feluettes," the play on which John Gray's renowned Canadian film Lilies was based.

Saturday's keynote speakers are: York University education professor Didi Khayatt on "My Place in Queer Canada" and Concordia University film studies professor Thomas Waugh on "Queer Nation(s)/National Cinema(s)." Waugh is the author of Hard to Imagine, an authoritative text on gay male pornography.

On Sunday, March 16, the keynote speaker is women's studies professor Becki Ross of the University of British Columbia, the author of The House That Jill Built: A Lesbian Nation in Formation, a book based on a series of Ross' interviews with various lesbians in Toronto, focusing on the rise of organized lesbian activism in Toronto in the 1970s. Ross will speak on "Butch Broads and Christian Do-Gooders: Collisions, Mediations and Truces at Street Haven, 1965 to 1969."

The conference will draw academics from a wide variety of disciplines, including history, sociology, film studies, English, French, and education. Goldie called the participants "the best people in the field of gay and lesbian issues in Canada." He added that many of the presenters are doctoral students, from whom "much of the cutting edge research in this field can be found."

The conference is free and all are welcome to attend. Most events will take place in Rooms 302 and 218 of Stong College, York University. For a complete agenda, please call the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University at (416) 736-5415 or call Professor Terry Goldie at (416) 736-2100 ext. 77553 or (416) 604-3670, or email him at tgoldie@yorku.ca.

York University is located at 4700 Keele Street (at Steeles Avenue) in North York.

For more information, call:

Professor Terry Goldie
Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 77553
or (416) 604-3670
email: tgoldie@yorku.ca

Mary Ann Horgan
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 22086
YU/024/97