Contemporary transphobic activism channels conspiratorial fantasies that understand the apparently sudden emergence of trans people as part of an obscure Jewish plot. This talk considers the historical roots of the convergence between transphobia and antisemitism through readings of two texts animated by the fear of a Judaizing and degendering cut, Oskar Panizza’s “The Operated Jew” and Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
Colby Gordon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Literatures in English at Bryn Mawr College. He has published broadly in the field of early modern trans studies, and is currently completing a manuscript entitled Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature.
Please contact tbrazas@uchicago.edu if you require any accommodations to enable your full participation.
Part of the LGBTQ Speaker Series at the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Renaissance Workshop.
This convening is open to all invitees regardless of vaccination status and, because of ongoing health risks to the unvaccinated, those who are unvaccinated are expected to adopt the risk mitigation measures advised by public health officials (masking and social distancing, etc.). Public convening may not be safe for all and carries a risk for contracting COVID-19, particularly for those unvaccinated. Participants will not know the vaccination status of others, including venue staff, and should follow appropriate risk mitigation measures.
Date: March 1, 2022
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Date: March 1, 2022
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM