UNT Libraries has partnered with Resource Center and The Dallas Way to present a fall speaker series benefiting the UNT LGBTQ Archive. Three speakers, all of whom are past UNT Special Collections Research Fellows, will speak on different topics related to LGBTQ history. The speaker series will take place Resource Center’s Louis L. Borick Foundation Auditorium located at 5750 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, TX. Each event in the series will include a complimentary reception from 5:30-6:00 p.m. followed by the speaker.

The September 18, 2019 event will feature speaker Dr. Wesley Phelps, Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas. Phelps will be speaking about legal challenges to Texas sodomy laws before the landmark 2003 Supreme Court decision to Lawrence v. Texas. Hear the ways in which the LGBTQ community and allies struggled to develop legal, political and educational strategies based on privacy, due process, and equal protection under law.

The October 30, 2019 event will feature speaker Dr. Chris Babits, Andrew W. Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. Babits will discuss the history of the conversion therapy movement, religion, and scientific inquiry. Hear about changing norms in gender and sexuality from the early Cold War into post 9/11 America.

The November 20, 2019 event will feature speaker Agatha Beins, Associate Professor and Director of the Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies Master’s Program at Texas Woman’s University. Beins will speak about the content and material qualities of the AIDS Memorial Quilt as well as the multiple paths it offered for people to learn about HIV/AIDS and build community. Hear about the North Texas’ area advocacy and discover the power of this art-activist project on a local scale.

All events in the speaker series are free and open to the public. If you plan to attend, please email tfrank@myresourcecenter.org to RSVP.

September 18, 2019 | Dr. Wesley Phelps

October 30, 2019 | Dr. Chris Babits

November 20, 2019 | Agatha Beins