May 11, 4pm, Smith 102, this talk is co-sponsored by DSP, Labor Studies, English, GWSS, Q Center

Speaker: Anne Balay

Time: May 11, 2016, 4:00-5:30pm

Location: Smith 102

Title: Working Class Queers: Stories of Public Health, Surveillance, and Dignity

Anne Balay is the author of Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers. She is a visiting assistant professor at Haverford College and a former long-haul trucker.

Abstract

Balay does ethnographic work on 21st-century queer life as it manifests in blue-collar work settings. Combining oral history with participant observation, she challenges tenacious assumptions about class, work, sexuality, and courage. Her talk at UW examines working-class women's anger, both in the steel mills of Northwest Indiana and driving the big rigs that saturate the American landscape, that has somehow remained invisible. Collecting and analyzing narratives from these women (both cis and trans) fosters a better understanding of working-class attitudes about such issues as guns, gays, and globalization.

Sponsors

Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies
Disability Studies Program
Department of English
Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
Comparative History of Ideas Program
Q Center

Accessibility information:

We will have CART captioning and ASL interpretation at this talk.

To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office, preferably at least 10 days in advance, at: 206.543.6450 (voice), 206.543.6452 (TTY), 206.685.7264 (fax), or email at dso@uw.edu.

Publish Date