Mutability and Mutualism

A Seminar with Institute for Postnatal Studies & The Institute of Queer Ecology

From the Institute of Queer Ecology:

Queerness and ecology together make visible the interconnected, entangled conditions of life on earth and honor the strange, multispecies amalgamation we live in community with. To make sense of the broad constellation of practices that emerge from Queer Ecology, we examine at two scales: the individual and the collective. As we explore, the binary distinction between these scales quickly blurs and blends.

At the scale of the individual—the organism—Queerness is mutability: it is the power of transformation; of shapeshifting, fluency, and the freedom to move from form to form; of code-switching, mimicry, flamboyance, delight; of subtlety, grace, and the embrace of fluidity. It plays in contrast to rigidity, permanence, and stasis; to one way of being. It is a metamorphosis and a constant becoming.

At the scale of the collective—the ecosystem—Queerness is mutualism: it is symbiotic, in-contact, relational; it is a space of eccentric economies and mutual support; of found families and utopian dreams; of care and connection and the net benefits species gift one another. It is a world shaped by cooperation. On a rapidly changing planet, Queer mutability and mutualism can guide us toward adaptation and survival.

The speakers in this seminar series will consider the influence of mutability and mutualism on their work in the fields of visual art, evolutionary biology, biodiversity, environmental activism, music, ecology, and queer theory.

SPEAKERS

10/18/2022 - The Institute of Queer Ecology

10/25/2022 - Hayden Dunham

10/27/2022- Sixto-Juan Zavala (Queer Botany)

11/1/2022 - Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens

11/3/2022 - Fereshteh Toosi

11/8/2022 - Jack Halberstam

11/15/2022 - Christy Gast

1/22/2022 - Institute for Postnatural Studies