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.

NEW:  The Future of Queer-Class Studies for Everyone (notes from final session)

NEW: Eli Clare Keynote Outline 12pt font  (pdf)

NEW: Eli Clare Keynote Outline 18pt font  (pdf)

NEW: Full Conference Program  (pdf)

NEW: Watch 8 Pre-recorded Virtual Panels on the CLAGS YouTube channel! Updated 4.15.2026

NEW:  LIVESTREAM THE CONFERENCE

NEW: PLEASE READ: Update for Presenters (from April 2, 2026 email)

NEW: Call for Papers: “Global Queer and Trans Class Relations,” a special issue of English Language Notes (ELN)

NEW: General registration now open

NEW: Online conference schedule

Keynote Speakers: Anne Balay, Anjali Arondekar, and Eli Clare

Dr. Anne Balay is a labor historian and an organizer with Service Employees International Union Local 509 in Boston. Balay is author of the award winning books Steel Closets: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Steelworkers and Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers.

Dr. Anjali Arondekar is Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation Presidential Chair and Professor of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is Founding Director of the Center for South Asian Studies. Arondekar is author of the award-winning books For the Record: On Sexuality and the Colonial Archive in India and Abundance: Sexuality’s History.

Eli Clare is a white, disabled, and genderqueer storyteller and educator. 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.

Conference cohosts:
  • University of Pennsylvania: Department of English, The Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies, and the Gender and Sexuality working group (Gen/Sex)
  • Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto
CONFERENCE UPDATES:
THE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IS HERE (1/20/26)

Thank you for browsing the QCR conference schedule! With 60 panels, 175 presenters, and five all-conference sessions, the conference is designed to expand attendees’ individual interests and to promote a common, conference-wide experience.

  • Pages 1-5: Conference overview
  • Pages 6-17: Detailed schedule (presenters and paper/panel titles)

Presenters: Please email [email protected] if your name is listed incorrectly. We will publish presenter bios and paper abstracts in a separate document.

We will update the schedule with add-on events and opportunities (e.g., queer-class walking tours, parties, readings) as we get closer to the conference.

—–Previous Updates—–

MAIN CONFERENCE UPDATE (11/13/25): New Featured Roundtable — “Amber Hollibaugh: Class, Queerness, and Desire”

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

UPDATE 3: Deadline for Proposals extended to September 15, 2025

 

Conference email: [email protected] (for inquiries only, not submissions)

Conference location: CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10016

Pre-conference email: [email protected]

Pre-conference location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia