As part of the 2022 PIKSI-Rock Public Lecture Series, Talia Mae Bettcher will present “Intimacy and Illusion”: A Sneak Peek.

Abstract: Interpersonal Spatiality: What Is It? What Can It Do?

In this paper, Bettcher introduces the idea of interpersonal spatiality – namely that all sensory and discursive encounters between people admit of intimacy (closeness), distance, or something in-between. Bettcher  will start by elaborating her theoretical approach to it. Then she demonstrate how the concept is useful in illuminating trans oppression and resistance. Finally, Bettcher will show how it can enrich María Lugones’s concept of the colonial/modern gender system.

The lecture is open to the public, but advance registration is required.

Talia Mae Bettcher is a Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles. Some of her articles include “Evil Deceivers and Make Believers: Transphobic Violence and the Politics of Illusion” (Hypatia 2007), “Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Re-Thinking Trans Oppression and Resistance” (Signs 2014), and “When Selves Have Sex: What the Phenomenology of Trans Sexuality Can Teach about Sexual Orientation” (Journal of Homosexuality 2014). She is currently completing the monograph “Intimacy and Illusion: An Essay in Trans Philosophy” (under contract with University of Minnesota Press).