In this presentation Hawkins speaks of navigating the trials and tribulations of queer research about Japan from the 1980s to the present.  From ethnographic inquiry, to archiving, and recently advising a Japanese pop star on why to come out, the talk looks back at the disattendance of Japanese gei and doseiai.  

Joseph Hawkins, Ph.D. is the Director of ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries and taught in the Anthropology and Gender & Sexuality Studies Departments from 2001 until 2021. He has been the Director of the archives since 2001 and prior to that was the President of the ONE Archives Foundation Board for twelve years. His anthropological research focused on homosexuality and identity in the postwar period of Japan, and he has published in Queer Voices Out of Japan, the Journal of Japanese Studies, and The Gay & Lesbian Review. His current research is focused science fiction, and its intersection with the early homophile movement in California from 1930-1960. 

This event is part of the Ito Center LGBTQ Lecture Series.