Once used as a slur, queer has been reclaimed by scholars and activists in the LGBTQ community in order to uplift and center marginalized narratives. In Queering Japanese America, we will be joined by Amy Sueyoshi and Tina Takemoto, who will enable us to push back against mainstream narratives of the Japanese American incarceration experience and take a closer look at marginalized queer history, both during and after camp. Takemoto will be screening The Queer Camp Trilogy, a series of experimental films exploring the hidden dimensions of queer Japanese American wartime history. Sueyoshi will be giving a presentation illuminating the role in which queer Japanese Americans played in shaping U.S. LGBT and Asian American history from the 19th century to the contemporary period. Q&A with the audience to follow.
Amy Sueyoshi is Interim Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. Her research lies at the intersection of Asian American and sexuality studies. She has authored two books Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation, and Sexuality in the Intimate Life of Yone Noguchi and Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American “Oriental.” She is also a contributor to the historic National Parks Service LGBT Theme Study with her essay “Breathing Fire.” Sueyoshi is a founding co-curator of the GLBT History Museum, the first queer history museum in the United States and the recipient of the Clio Award for her contribution to queer history.
Tina Takemoto is an artist, scholar, and Dean of Humanities and Sciences at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Their work examines issues of race, queer identity, memory, and grief. Takemoto’s research explores queer Asian American history and identity including the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated by the US government during World War II. Takemoto has presented artwork and performances internationally and has received grants funded by Art Matters, ArtPlace, the Fleishhacker Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Looking for Jiro received Best Experimental Film Jury Award at the Austin LGBT International Film Festival.
This event will be located in the Open Square.
