Be Gay Do Crimes: Art, Deviance, and Activism

Mon, March 16, 2026 5:00 PM at Room 338 Case Hall

This talk examines queer art and activism as forms of political resistance shaped by criminalization and exclusion. Tracing a lineage from ACT UP to contemporary meme culture, it argues that queer performance, pleasure, and aesthetics transform marginality into collective power, revealing culture as a central infrastructure of survival and political change.
 
Presenter: Dr. Chris Conner, James Madison College's 2025-26 Stephen O. Murray Scholar in Residence. An assistant professor of sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Conner's research explores criminology, social movements, technology, gender and sexuality, with a focus on how large-scale technological shifts transform human interaction.
 
This event is presented by James Madison College in partnership with MSU Department of Sociology.