Free public lecture ‘Closing the Door: Complaint as Diversity Work’

September 26, 2019 —

Sara Ahmed, a feminist writer and independent scholar who works at the intersection of feminist, queer and race studies, will deliver a free public lecture sponsored, in part, by the University of Manitoba’s department of women’s and gender studies, and the UM’s Institute for the Humanities.

Ahmed’s lecture will draw on interviews conducted with staff and students who have made complaints within universities that relate to unfair, unjust or unequal working conditions, and to abuses of power such as sexual and racial harassment. Her lecture will frame complaints as a form of diversity work: the work some have to do in order to be accommodated. Such work, she argues, is so tiresome and bureaucratically cumbersome that many complaints often end up being about the system. As such, her lecture will explore the significance of how complaints happen “behind closed doors,” and she will argue that doors are often closed even when they appear to be opened.

Please note this event is sold out.
What: Free public lecture by Sara Ahmed, “Closing the Door: Complaint as Diversity Work”
When: October 2, 2019, 5-7 p.m.
Where: West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue
Monetary or book donations for the 2SQTBIPOC Library encouraged
Accessibility Information: There is a small lip at the front entrance of the event space. Inside, there is a wheelchair lift. ASL will be provided at the event.
Gender-Neutral Washrooms: There are two gender-neutral washrooms, and both have an accessible stall.

Ahmed is a former professor of race and cultural studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, and is the author Living a Feminist Life (2017), Willful Subjects (2014), and On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (2012). Her most recent writing can be found on her blog: feministkilljoys.com.

This event is presented by the Margaret Laurence Endowment Fund held jointly by the Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Winnipeg, Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Manitoba, and Gender and Women’s Studies at Brandon University; the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities; the Centre for Research in Cultural Studies at the University of Winnipeg; and QPOC Winnipeg.