Speaker Biographies
Dr. Laura Alexandra Harris publishes on African-American femme lesbian sexual orientation and gender identity, intervening in stereotypical equations of black lesbians with “butches” and challenging the association of “femmes” with passive women. Dr. Harris is an Assistant Professor of English, World Literature, and Black Studies at Pitzer College in Los Angeles County, California. She received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego. Harris publishes in the areas of literary criticism, feminist and queer studies, Black studies, African diasporic studies, and fiction and poetry. Her publications are featured in the Journal of Lesbian Studies and African American Review.
Dr. Robert McRuer is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at The George Washington University, where he teaches queer theory, disability studies, and cultural studies. He is the author of Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability (NYU, 2006) and The Queer Renaissance: Contemporary American Literature and the Reinvention of Lesbian and Gay Identities (NYU, 1997). He is co-editor, with Abby L. Wilkerson, of Desiring Disability: Queer Theory Meets Disability Studies, which appeared as a special issue of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies (2003). His articles have appeared in PMLA, Radical History Review, Genders, the Journal of Medical Humanities, and numerous other prestigious scholarly venues.
S. Bear Bergman is a non-academic public intellectual who will add a dynamic energy to this event. Although all three speakers are noted for their clear and jargon-free public speaking (an absolute must in the criteria for speaker selection), Bergman in particular promises to be an exciting showstopper finale. Bergman is a writer, a theater artist, an instigator, a gender-jammer, and a good example of what happens when you overeducate a contrarian. Bergman is also the author of Butch is a Noun (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2006) and three award-winning solo performances, as well as a frequent contributor to anthologies on all manner of topics. Bear is also a frequent lecturer and at colleges and universities regarding issues relating to gender and sexuality, and has advised the staff of numerous institutions on their policies regarding transgendered
Katastrophe (aka Rocco Kayiatos) is a San Francisco-based rapper and producer, not to mention a seasoned vet on the mic who got his start competing in poetry slams in 1997. Combining his love of music and language, he started rapping and making beats in 2002. He uses his poetic grasp of language to weave dense tales of lives lived outside the mainstreams of education, gender, sexuality and culture. He makes hip-hop that explodes with dangerous and ebullient passion. He was crowned Producer of the Year by Out Music Awards for his debute album. Kayiatos has since released a second album entitled Fault, Lies and Faultlines and his third and best full length release, The Worst Amazing was released in October on 307 Knox Records. He has toured the US and Europe several times and continues to travel to support his releases. His video for the song "The Life" was on MTV networks LOGO top ten click list for 12 weeks. His music has helped soundtrack The Showtime Network's The L Word, as well as several short films. Kayiatos is the subject of a forthcoming biopic called The State of Katastrophe.