The post was written by Hatchet reporter Mary Sette.
The visiting queer studies scholar who spent the week in the English department had a message Wednesday for students and faculty: “Go Gaga.”
Jack Halberstam, professor of American studies, ethnicity and gender studies at the University of Southern California, spoke in classes and public forums this week about Gaga feminism, a term he coined to help make sense of contemporary problems in fields like feminism, gender and sexuality.
“Lady Gaga is a way of thinking about what new forms of life we might be looking for in the everyday multiple events of popular culture,” he said. “The word ‘gaga’ means something wacky, wild and eccentric, and I see Lady Gaga as someone who inhabits this land of gaga for a little while.”
Halberstam, fresh off a book launch of “Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender and the End of Normal,” came to GW this week as the English department’s distinguished professor-in-residence, an annual role funded by one of the largest gifts the department ever received.
Past residents include influential professors and authors such as Edward P. Jones – who is now on the department’s faculty – and José Esteban Muñoz.
“I think these visits that professors do, the back and forth of students, of faculty, of researchers is very important for certain streams of knowledge to stay liquid and have certain amount of mobility that is otherwise very hard to achieve,” Halberstam, formerly known as Judith, said.
Robert McRuer, chair of the English department, called Halberstam “a field-transforming figure in many locations” listing Halberstam’s expertise in queer studies, transgender studies and film theory.
During his mini-residency at GW, which lasted only this week, Halberstam visited classrooms, held lectures, led seminars and met with students and faculty across several different departments.
“We wanted our faculty and staff to get as much out of Jack’s many skills as we could,” McRuer said. “Jack is also an extremely popular figure in queer studies and many students have been very excited to have him on campus.”
Halberstam said his most recent book on Gaga feminism has tried to take less of an academic and more of a mainstream approach to the topic.
During his lecture at GW, in a room full of students and staff, Halberstam pointed to an image of a Lady Gaga on screen, decked out in face paint and wearing a diamond headpiece. He called her a symbol in today’s culture for her ability to cross gender boundaries.
Halberstam said he believes “going Gaga” is a way to revitalize feminism for a new generation, and he wanted to share the message at a politically-oriented university.
“For me its a chance to talk to other students from another part of the world where different concerns and paradigms are pressing,” Halberstam said. “It’s been a real learning experience for me to see how active and dynamic the relationship to the world of politics is here, and that’s really, really different than USC.”
