February is LGBTQIA+ History Month. Over the month, our students, staff, alumni and local community have the opportunity to come together to recognise and celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA+ people throughout history.
The University of Reading’s programme is packed full of free lectures and seminars, both online and in-person. We hope you will be able to join us for some of these events – make sure to reserve your place via the links below.
Bowie Love
Thursday 22 February
18:00 – 19:00, Edith Morley, Van Emden Lecture Theatre
Professor Alex Sharpe, School of Law at Warwick, will discuss a love for humanity that can combat aversion to difference. It will explore how David Bowie’s work embodies this love, drawing on the philosophies of Scheler, Badiou, and Nietzsche.
The lecture will cover three love lessons from Bowie’s work: letting go, humility, and posthuman/queer love. It will also explain how Bowie subverted social norms and how his love is linked to freedom. Expect an audio-visual experience with Bowie’s music, images, and text.
Micro Rainbow with Moud Goba
Friday 23 February
13:00 – 14:00, Online
The LGBTQIA+ Network in collaboration with the BAME+ Network invite you to join us for an online lunchtime talk by Moud Goba, as part of LGBTQIA+ History Month events at the University of Reading.
Moud Goba is an LGBTQIA+ rights activist from Zimbabwe. She is currently the National Director of the charity Micro Rainbow and the chair of the board of trustees for UK Black Pride. Micro Rainbow works with LGBTQIA+ asylum-seeking refugees by providing safe housing across the UK, promoting social inclusion, and increasing employability.
Wolfenden Seminar: Introduction to the LGBTQ+ Travel Tool
Monday 26 February
16:00 – 17:30, Edith Morley 301 and Online
The Wolfenden Seminar will introduce the LGBTQ+ Travel Tool, developed at the University of Reading, and will explore the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ academics when engaging in international travel which led to the creation of the tool.
The LGBTQ+ Travel Tool aims to provide a means for LGBTQ+ staff and students travelling internationally for work or education purposes, and their home organisations and institutions to ensure that the safeguarding of LGBTQ+ colleagues is at the forefront of any travel plans.
The introduction to the Travel Tool will be followed by a panel discussion with colleagues who contributed to the project.
Wolfenden Lecture – LGBTQIA+ History Month Flagship Talk
Tuesday 27 February
17:30 – 19:00, Edith Morley G27
Join Dr Sophie Cook as she shares her remarkable life story. In 2015, Sophie transitioned and made history by becoming the first openly transgender woman to work in Premier League Football.
Since then, she has been tirelessly working towards educating people about Mental Health and Diversity and Inclusion, helping businesses work more effectively and cohesively through the power of shared experiences. Dr Cook believes that recognising the things that we have in common rather than those that divide us is the key to creating a more inclusive and harmonious society.
Beyond Liberation or Assimilation with Professor Jonathan Bell
Wednesday 28 February
16:30 – 18:00, Room 125, Edith Morley Building
Join Professor Jonathan Bell, from UCL, for a lecture on the history of identity politics and the struggles for bodily autonomy in the United States.
The lecture provides a thought-provoking opportunity to deepen your understanding of the revolutionary possibilities and core concerns of the rights revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s. Discover how debates over money, access to care, and consumer rights have shaped the terms of identity politics, and how the privatised healthcare system has exposed social disparities within gender rights movements.
This event is open to all, no booking required.
View all upcoming University of Reading events here.
