Welcome to the Lavender Languages Conference website. Here you will find information about the 21st annual Lavender Language Conference (February 14-16, 2014) as well as archived details related to the 20th anniversary conference (February 2013) and previous conferences. 

With Lav 21, the Conference enters its third decade. This year’s program committee is committed to diversifying conference discussion and invites proposals for individual papers, panels and special events that situate discussions of language and sexuality within broader inflections, e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, age, class, mobility, ability, citizenship, nationality. There was much discussion at Lav 20 about language and normativity, and that discussion will likely continue at Lav 21, along with attention to language, sexuality and privilege. Locations for these discussions will likely be as diverse as in previous years, e.g. diaspora and new media, pornography and personal narrative.

One of the things that continues to make the Lav Lgs conference unique is its “no attitude” atmosphere. The conference setting is deliberately informal. There is ample time for discussion during the scheduled sessions and during the refreshment breaks. Lunch service is provided on site (and included in registration fee) to create additional opportunities for conference related conversation. Conference participants come from diverse backgrounds and this ensures multiple points of view will be represented in every discussion. Fees are deliberately suppressed to ensure that registration is affordable; we are not a profit-center! The conference site is accessible. And, with sufficient advance notice, all events have sign-language support. You will not feel alone, out-of-place, or unloved at Lav Lgs 21.

Information about campus logistics and information on accommodations is posted elsewhere on the website. Please note that we will once again negotiate a block of hotel rooms at a site convenient to campus and at a reasonable weekend rate. To confirm rooms at this rate, conference participants are asked to make reservations through the hotel website by mid-January. Details will be available at Accommodations.

Please message back (wlm@american.edu) at any time if you have questions about the conference program or related logistics.

With best wishes,  

Wlm L. Leap
Conference Coordinator
Lavender Languages 21