Queer-Class Relations Conference

CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center will host a Queer-Class Relations conference April 17-18, 2026, in New York City. The deadline for proposals has been extended to September 15, 2025. Successful applicants will be required to register by November 15, 2025.

MAIN CONFERENCE UPDATE (9/6/25): Eli Clare has joined the speaker lineup for the Queer-Class Relations main conference

Writer and educator Eli Clare will offer a fully virtual/remote keynote address on genderqueer, disabled, classed storytelling, organized by our new conference cohost, the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. His books include the 2025 Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming; the award-winning Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure; The Marrow’s Telling; Words in Motion; and Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation. For his work on disability and queerness/transness, Clare received the 2025-26 Brudner Prize.eliclare.com

MAIN CONFERENCE UPDATE (9/6/25): Welcome to new conference cohost the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto

Helping CLAGS fulfill the Queer-Class Relations conference’s key mission of cross-institutional collaboration and resource sharing, the Bonham Centre will host Eli Clare’s virtual keynote. Special thanks to Dana Seitler and Jessica Fields for your vision and good will.

GRADUATE STUDENT PRE-CONFERENCE UPDATE (9/6/25): Justin Torres and Kadji Amin have joined the pre-conference speaker lineup in Philadelphia

Justin Torres is the author of the award-winning Blackouts and We the Animals. He lives in Los Angeles, and is an associate professor of English at UCLA.

Kadji Amin is Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Emory University. He is the author of Disturbing Attachments: Genet, Modern Pederasty, and Queer History

——-Previous Updates—–

UPDATE 1: Graduate Student Pre-Conference in Philadelphia

We have added a GRADUATE STUDENT PRE-CONFERENCE, April 15-16, 2026 in Philadelphia. Sponsored by The University of Pennsylvania, the Department of English, and The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies. About the pre-conference:

For Graduate Students interested in queer-class relations
Featuring PhD-faculty interactive reading groups, workshops, and keynotes
A limited number of travel grants are available ($750)
Lodging available and meals provided during the pre-conference in Philly
contact [email protected] for information

UPDATE 2: Virtual & Remote Participation

Thank you for your inquiries about virtual and remote participation for the conference. We think we’ve found solutions that match our capacity and that allow for much broader engagement.

Queer-Class Relations will offer both 100% in-person panels and 100% virtual panels (hybrid panels are difficult for us to manage). Virtual panels are for panelists who cannot attend in person. If it is at all possible to attend in person, CLAGS would love to have you join us in New York! We want the in-person experience to be dynamic and energizing, while building queer-class relations across all modalities.
All Keynote addresses will be both in-person and livestreamed via webinar.
Two in-person panel rooms will have a permanent livestream camera set up, allowing virtual attendance throughout the two days of panels in those two rooms. We hope this will make those who can’t travel to New York feel more a part of the conference.
Abstracts of accepted papers will be posted on the conference website, and it will be possible for readers to post questions or comments for the presenters in advance of the conference (asynchronous participation)
In-person panel sessions will be video recorded to the greatest extent possible and uploaded to CLAGS’ YouTube page. In-person panel sessions will also be audio recorded to the greatest extent possible, transcribed, and uploaded to CLAGS’ YouTube page. All virtual panels will be video/audio recorded via Zoom.
Virtual attendees will pay a reduced registration fee: $50 for presenters, $10 for attendees who are not presenting