Director’s Letter Fall 2017
Since 2004, the Program in Sexuality Studies has served as an important space of intellectual exchange on Carolina’s campus. It is my honor to keep the program moving forward in its mission of fostering conversations about how questions of sexual identity and expression emerge in all aspects of society and have been significant in all cultures throughout time. The Program houses a dynamic minor for undergraduate students, but we develop events geared toward undergrads, graduate students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the local community. With affiliated faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Public Health, the Medical School, the School of Journalism, and the UNC Law School, our Program touches very nearly every part of campus, making it truly interdisciplinary space. Through its courses and planned events, the Program attempts to model the liberal arts values that lie at the heart of a Carolina education with its emphasis on critical thinking and helping students become well-informed citizens.
We have a number of events that we hold each semester including visiting scholar lectures, casual conversations over lunch (our “Lunch ‘N Learn” series), and conferences featuring student and faculty presenters. The next academic year promises to be an exciting one with new symposia and original performances that showcase the range of ways sexuality can inform research and lived experience. These events will continue our goal of encouraging productive dialogue about sexual identity and culture on campus and beyond.
I look forward to seeing you in class or at one of our events!
GerShun Avilez, Ph.D.
Director, Program in Sexuality Studies
Associate Professor, Department of English & Comparative Literature