The annual Conference on Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion will be held at University of California, Riverside on Feb. 18 through Feb. 20.
Phoebe Mock ’21 and Molly Morrison ’22, an Honors Fellow and religious studies and philosophy double major, are both presenting research at the annual Conference on Queer and Transgender Studies in Religion held at the University of California, Riverside on Feb. 18 through Feb. 20.
Both Mock and Morrison have worked with Lynn R. Huber, Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies. Associate Professor in Art History Evan Gatti has also mentored Mock, and Morrison has worked with Lauren Guilmette, assistant professor in philosophy. Morrison has also been a Summer Research Fellow with Elon’s Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society.
Mock’s paper is titled “Queering Ancient Sex Objects: Reading Representations of the Prostitute in Classical Greece.” In it she asks how the misuse of objects depicted in symposium scenes on classical Greek pottery help interpreters think about the human figures, mostly prostitutes, as queer. Mock, who graduated from Elon with a bachelor’s in art history, is currently applying to graduate programs to continue studying art history.
Morrison’s paper, “Apprehending the Goddess: Cybele’s Transition to Romanhood,” is part of their Honors thesis research. Morrison uses “critical fabulation,” an idea articulated by author Saidiya Hartman, to explore the trans-identity of the ancient goddess Cybele, as well as to interrogate historical re-tellings of queer figures.
This annual conference gathers together some of the field’s most prominent scholars in queer and trans studies of religion, as well as provides a generative space for emerging scholarly voices.