In deze lezing spreek ik over de representatie van HIV/AIDS in de Nederlandstalige en internationale literatuur. En dan met name de verschillen tussen de Nederlandse literatuur en die uit de VS, het VK en Frankrijk. Wat werd er geschreven over HIV/AIDS op het hoogtepunt van de crisisjaren in het westen? Hoe blikken hedendaagse auteurs terug op deze crisisjaren? En vooral, welke verhalen worden er niet verteld over HIV/AIDS?
Iedereen kijkt naar de wereld met bepaalde opvattingen en aannames over hoe die wereld eruit hoort te zien. Die aannames zorgen voor een vertekende blik. Zo stellen feministische biologen en antropologen dat westerse opvattingen over gender ons een vertekend beeld geven van biologische sekse en de rol van gender in niet-westerse culturen. In deze lezing laat Looi van Kessel zien hoe kritische dragartiesten zoals Yuki Kihara en Mx. Science drag inzetten om de wetenschap een lachspiegel voor te houden. Op deze manier bevragen deze artiesten de schijnbare neutraliteit van wetenschappelijke kennis.
Door de eeuwen heen hebben queer personen zich vaak verenigd in zogenaamde chosen families. Dit doen ze vaak als een soort overlevingsstrategie: in hun eigen familie of in de maatschappij was er geen ruimte voor de manier waarop zij wilden liefhebben. Wat opvalt is dat deze chosen families vaak gepaard gaan met kunstzinnige uitingen. Van kunstenaarskolonies, tot ballroom houses en drag families: wanneer queer personen samenkomen ontstaat er creativiteit. In dit speedcollege kijkt dr. Looi van Kessel met ons naar de kunst en het leven van enkele creatieve chosen families.
This AIDS epidemic had a devastating and still tangible impact on the lives of many. Looking back, this period is often remembered with a sense of grief, anger, and sorrow. Yet, the AIDS epidemic also led to a strengthened sense of solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community. Literature from and about the AIDS epidemic bears witness to this coalition-building and shows us how the LGBTQ+ community can stand together, even when the political climate seems turned against them. Looi van Kessel explores how these stories reveal the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community and reflect on how collective action and storytelling continue to shape the community today.
For over a century, queer people have looked at Oscar Wilde as a icon. But what do we now think of the more problematic parts of his sexuality? For instance, his proclivity for young pre-adolescent men. In this talk I aim to understand Wilde's version of homosexuality by considering it in its historical context.
During this talk I conducted an interview with drag queen Janey Jacké and we talked about what it means to perform in drag. After the interview, I gave a lecture about the history of drag in The Netherlands.
In this lecture I talk about how drag artists ignore the arbitrary rules around gender and clothing. Such artists invite us to reflect on why we as a society react so strongly to people who wear clothing that 'belongs' to an opposite gender role. Lecture, Studium Generale Leiden
Symposium: Een middag rondom Louis Couperus (Forum Groningen, 2 december 2023).
Symposium: Van en over Louis Couperus (De Roode Bioscoop, 29 november 2023).
During the annual education conference of the Leiden University Medical Center, I spoke about putting both students and teachers at the center of developing inclusive education policy. It is important to make education more accessible to an increasingly diverse group of students, but educators must also be offered the tools to adequately adapt their education. Lecture, LUMC Education Conference
(Louis Couperusmuseum, 22 oktober 2023)
During the 100th anniversary of Louis Couperus's death, I reflect on how his writing about gender and sexuality was not only contrary to the times in which he lived, but can still be read as rebellious. Especially when we read his work based on new insights within gender studies.
During the official presentation of the biography of James Purdy, written by Michael Snyder, I spoke about the special bond that James Purdy had with the Netherlands. Through his friendship with Johan Polak, he played an important role in the history of Dutch gay literature. Lecture and panel discussion, Greenlight Bookstore
Louis Couperus’ roman De stille kracht wordt vaak gelezen als anti-koloniaal en als tegendraads op het gebied van seksuele normen. In deze lezing leg ik deze interpretaties naast elkaar, en betoog ik dat die niet zomaar samengaan. Ondanks dat ze een gezamenlijke vijand vinden in de witte, koloniale man, zijn de vrijgevochten vrouw en het koloniale subject niet automatisch elkaars bondgenoten. Lezing, Indische Letteren
Symposium: American Theatre Weekend (The New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, Sint Petersburg 4 december 2021).
The Louis Couperus Society's society day in 2021 was about gender. There I was able to speak about the way in which his work continues to resonate today when we read it from contemporary insights from gender research. Lecture, Louis Couperus Society Day
Symposium Frans Kellendonk en de andersheid (Universiteit Leiden, 18 juni 2015)
Workshop: Why Literature? Parabasis, Friendship, Empathy and the Future of Literary Studies (Universiteit Leiden, April 2015)
32nd International Conference of Europeanists, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
30th International Conference of Europeanists, Université Lyon 2, Lyon, France
James Purdy Symposium, University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom, March 2019.
Villains! Constructing Narratives of Evil, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, February 2019.
28th Annual ALA Concerence 2017, Westin Copley Place, Boston MA, United States, May 2017.
European Summer School for Cultural Studies, Amsterdam University and Leiden University, Amsterdam and Leiden, Netherlands, June 2016.
Summer School for Sexualities, Cultures and Politics, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia, August 2015.
26th Annual ALA Conference 2015, Westin Copley Place, Boston MA, United States, May 2015.
LUCAS Graduate Conference, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, January 2015.
Legal Bodies: Rethinking Personhood in Law, the Arts and Literature, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, May 2014.
Annual ACLA 2014 Conference, NYU, New York NY, United States, March 2014.
Events in Political and Artistic Practice, Amsterdam University, Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 2013.
NICA Winter School: Doubt, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, January 2012.
NICA Summer School: Lost Objects, Amsterdam University, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2011.
Symposium: 40 Years of Gender Studies at Radboud University
Symposium: Feminist Pedagogies, Radboud University
D&I Symposium, Untold Stories: Representation, Heritage and Museums
25th Anniversary symposium of the Centre for Gender and Diversity
Amnesty International Student Group The Hague
Exhibition: Testimonies of Change, Grey Space in the Middle
Screening: Ginger & Honey Milk, CinemAsia (Amsterdam, 8 March 2023).
D&I Symposium, (Leiden University, 19 January 2023)
Exhibition: Everything New Under the Sun, Grey Space in the Middle (Den Haag, 1 september 2022).