09/04/2026
You are cordially invited to our annual Michael Lynch Distinguished Lecturer Series! This year we are joined by the brilliant Eithne Luibhéid, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona, who will be discussing her book Abolitionist Intimacies. Read below for a complete event description and Luibhéid’s short bio.
When: October 29, 2026, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Where: William Doo Auditorium, Room A, 45 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario
Register on Eventbrite (link in bio)
TALK DESCRIPTION
Eithne Luibhéid discusses Abolitionist Intimacies, which centers writings by and about q***r- and trans-identified migrants and allies who mobilize intimacies to contest pervasive U.S. deportation practices while working toward a future without detention, deportation, or U.S. immigration controls. Framing U.S. immigration controls as an infrastructure of chokepoints, the chapters center key chokepoints around which q***r and trans migrants and allies have especially mobilized: proposed pathways to citizenship for undocumented migrants; marriage as a means for legalization; traffic interactions as a pipeline to deportation; and struggles to end q***r and trans migrant detention. Through mobilizing, activists and theorists have advanced new visions and configurations of possible intimacies that not only challenge deportation but also rework what immigration control and citizenship could mean. The book highlights that migrants and citizens alike have stakes in abolishing deportation.
SHORT BIO:
Eithne Luibhéid is Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Arizona. She received her Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her research explores the connections among q***r lives, racialization processes, state immigration controls, and citizenship. From 2007-2011, she served as the Director of the Institute for LGBT Studies at the University of Arizona. She served as the Acting Director of Gender and Women’s Studies in 2022-2023 and 2024-2026. Luibhéid is a member of the Board of BorderLinks in Tucson.
We hope to see you all there!