The University at Buffalo Humanities Institute is proud to present the second annual Buffalo Humanities Festival, which will be held from the 23rd to the 26th of September at SUNY Buffalo State College, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.
This year’s theme is “Gender Bender,” a theme that will explore the question of whether we are bound by gender. Now featuring four days of presentations, performances, and conversations, the Festival will probe gender issues by going beyond the traditional oppositions of male/female and gay/straight.
Tackling a controversial subject head-on, the Festival seeks to raise the level of community discourse in Western New York by exploring sex and gender through history, literature, and the arts, all in a setting that is lively and fun.
Erik Seeman, Professor of History at UB and Director of the Humanities Institute, says that he hopes that the Festival will “foster dialogue and idea-sharing among the public, scholars, and artists.”
According to Libby Otto, Associate Professor of Art History at UB and Executive Director of HI, “We believe that understanding the humanities enriches one’s life and fosters civic engagement.” Each year, the Festival aims to draw on Buffalo’s rich academic and cultural traditions to engage the most pressing questions of our time.
This year’s featured speaker will be Jill Lepore, a Harvard History professor and one of America’s most engaging history writers. She will discuss her newest book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman onstage at the Albright Knox on Friday, September 25th at 8pm. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students. Lepore will be available to answer questions and sign books after her talk.
The Humanities Institute is also excited about several new features of this year’s Festival, including a new opening event that will be free and open to the public at the Buffalo History Museum on Sept. 23rd from 7-9 pm, during which Patrick McDevitt, Associate Professor of History at UB, will give a talk on “Do Clothes Make the Man?”
Events on Saturday the 26th will include a “Drag Break” during lunch that will feature local drag performers, and a Kids Tent hosted by Squeaky Wheel that will invite children to explore gender through dress-up and video art.
For more information on scheduling and ticketing, please visit the Festival website.