About this Event
Welcome to Queer Diplomacy: Homophobia, International Relations and LGBT Human Rights with Douglas Janoff! Join us in person at room 916, 42 Bute Gardens (formerly Adam Smith Building) for discussion on the intersection of LGBTQ+ human rights and diplomacy.
The event will feature a presentation discussing the book Queer Diplomacy by Douglas Janoff, published by Palgrave Macmillan in the Global Queer Politics series - followed by a conversation with chair & discussant Matthew Waites (Reader in Sociology, University of Glasgow), then questions and open discussion with participants. This is a joint event of the Gender and Sexualities Interdisciplinary Network, together with the Sociology subject group, both within the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow.
Queer Diplomacy: Homophobia, International Relations and LGBT Human Rights is a book presenting the first study of multilateral LGBT human rights diplomacy as viewed from the perspective of its practitioners: diplomats, LGBT activists, human rights experts and multilateral specialists. It demonstrates how diplomats and advocates work to promote LGBT rights on the world stage, often using Western constructs of sexual and gender identity. In turn, these efforts have triggered conflict and polarization: opposing states often deploy cultural, religious and moral discourses to minimize LGBT rights as a “legitimate” human right.
Douglas Janoff (he/him) is a seasoned Canadian foreign service officer, human rights negotiator and former community activist and researcher, using insider perspectives to critically assess both bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement on LGBT human rights issues. Janoff’s research involved participation in UN meetings in Geneva and New York and 29 interviews with diplomats, human rights advocates and experts, and representatives from the UN and other inter-governmental organizations. Although LGBT issues have been mainstreamed into many areas of bilateral and multilateral human rights policy, his research found a considerable gap: a coordinated diplomatic and civil society approach is needed to more effectively address ongoing human rights violations against LGBT people around the world.
Matthew Waites (he or they) is Reader in Sociology within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow. He is co-editor, with Corinne Lennox, of Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change (School of Advanced Study, 2013). He is also co-editor of the Global Queer Politics book series. Current research focuses on issues including comparative colonialisms and colonialities in queer studies, and genocide and necropolitics in global queer politics.
Further information about Queer Diplomacy can be found on Douglas Janoff's website: https://douglasvictorjanoff.com/queer-diplomacy/
The book is available via the Springer website: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-07341-0?sap-outbound-id=7D9E5BAA56DFD41F809E1413CDB4F1403333F7AF
The Gender and Sexualities Interdisciplinary Network website has information about further events and activities: https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/research/interdisciplinaryresearchthemes/addressinginequalities/genderandsexualitiesinterdisciplinarynetwork/
The venue (Room 916) is wheelchair accessible via lift to level 9 of 42 Bute Gardens (formerly Adam Smith Building). For further access requirements or any questions please contact the organizer Matthew Waites in advance (email [email protected]).
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
room 916, 42 Bute Gardens, 42 Bute Gardens, Glasgow, United Kingdom