An "Open Mesh of Possibilities"

This exhibit explores the multifaceted ways in which the writings and artwork of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1950 - 2009) bring queerness into life. A poet, literary critic, artist, mentor, professor, and former faculty member at Duke, Sedgwick is perhaps best known as one of the founders of the field of Queer theory. Throughout her work, Sedgwick insists on “queerness” as a sensibility and not a settled identity. Objects are primarily selected from her archive (housed within the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture) and this exhibit invites us to reflect on the many forms of queerness within and beyond Sedgwick’s work and the creative modes through which they’re expressed.

Curator: Katherine Carithers, Ph.D student, English Department, Duke University

Events:

Events:

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Exhibit Opening Event

Wednesday. February 26, 2025 (11 am - 6pm)  

Rubenstein Library, Room 153, Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room

R.S.V.P. to Attend

11:00-12:15 Opening session:
Brief welcome by Naomi Nelson, Associate University Librarian and Director, Rubenstein Library

Opening remarks by Jennifer Nash, Jean Fox O'Barr Women's Studies Distinguished Professor

Opening address by Adam Frank, Professor of English Languages and Literatures at University of British Columbia 

Curator Remarks by Katherine Carithers, Ph.D. candidate, English Department, Duke

12:15-1:45 Lunch and Exhibit exploration

1:45-2:45 Lecture:

by Jane Hu, Assistant Professor at University of Southern California introduced by Laura Micham, Director, Sallie Bingham Center  

2:45-3:00 Coffee

3:00 - 4:30 Exhibit roundtable:

Moderated by Robyn Wiegman, Professor of the Programs in Literature and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, Duke University

• Cole Adams, Ph.D. candidate, Program in Literature, Duke University

• Julien Fischer, Candidate Psychoanalyst; Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center and Lecturer, Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Stanford University.

• Annie Sansonetti, Ph.D. candidate, Performance Studies, NYU Tisch School of the Arts

4:30-5:15 Closing address

Cindy Patton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University Introduced by Ranjana Khanna, Professor of English, Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and the Literature Program, and Director, Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke University

5:15- 6:15 Reception

Note: This program is in-person. The talks will be recorded and videos will be shared online after the event, but will not be streamed live. 

Sponsored by: the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture; Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Foundation; Duke Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies; Duke Program in Literature; Duke Department of English; Franklin Humanities Institute; and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.