the young people's professor

Martin Manalansan, an anthropologist specializing in South Asian diaspora studies, belongs to growing cohort of scholars that have recently moved "queer critique" aggressively into the domain of critical race theory (i.e. Jose Esteban Munoz, David Eng, Juana Rodriquez, Roderick Ferguson, Jasbir Puar, and Chandan Reddy et. al).

Manalansan's first book Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora is probably one of my "favorite" (for some reason this word is less critical than what it should be, no?) texts to emerge at the intersections of socio-cultural anthropology and queer studies. Manalansan's newer research deals with questions of neoliberalism in relationship to queer of color social formations--questions which are of course central to my own dissertation. His important essay "Race, Violence, and Neoliberal Spatial Politics in the Global City" appeared in the special issue of Social Text "What's Queer About Queer Studies Now?" co-edited by my advisor Jose Esteban Munoz with fellow queer critique gurus Judith Halberstam and David Eng.

Manalansan will be giving a talk at Yale University next Wednesday entitled "What is to be done? Affecting Queer Futures." The talk will take place from 5 to 6:30pm on March 26th in Yale's Hall of Graduate Studies (520 York Street, Room 211). I'm hoping to be in attendance.