Centenary professors host virtual forum, Q & A on gender and sexuality
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College’s annual open forum on gender and sexuality, hosted by a multi-disciplinary faculty panel, will take place in a virtual format for the first time this year. The free Zoom forum begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, and is open to campus and community members at centenary.edu/genderforum.
The panel includes Centenary professors Dr. Amy Hammond, Dr. Michelle Wolkomir, and Dr. Amanda Donahoe. Following brief introductions from the panelists, the forum will follow a question and answer format, allowing the members of the audience to direct the discussion topics. Audience members will be able to submit questions via chat to a moderator who will then pose the questions to the panelists. The panelists will not know the identity of the audience members submitting questions.
The forum is returning for its fourth year. It was originally modeled on a student-organized event in which Hammond and Wolkomir were invited to participate, and in February 2019 the professors decided to create further opportunities for discussion with the forum.
“Gender and sexuality affect the way we see ourselves and the ways in which we see others,” said Donahoe. “This is hard enough face to face, is it worse when we're virtual or socially distant? Structures of masculinity and femininity shape our choices and our opportunities in ways we often don't see or question. It's interesting to think about how we perform gender or pursue our sexuality when we're socially distant.”
For more information about the forum, please contact Dr. Amanda Donahoe (adonahoe@centenary.edu or Dr. Michelle Wolkomir (mwolkomi@centenary.edu).