The Tenth Law, Sexuality & Society Annual Lecture Series, 2024 organised by the Centre attempts to take forward the conversations on the role of the law in shaping the narratives and informing dominant discourses on identity, sex, gender and sexuality.

In this edition, we were in conversation with Dipika Thakur who spoke on Reimagining Economic Justice through Trans Rights; Abirami Jyotheeswaran who discussed the film 2500 Years of Slavery Voices of Dalit Women; and Professor Priya Gupta who discussed Law & Political Economy Method.

2024

The ninth edition of the Law, Sexuality and Society Lecture and Conversation Series focused on the theme of “Towards Anti-Caste and Anti-Carceral Politics.” The Centre hosted three speakers who engaged with abolition and anti-carcerality from lenses of caste, gender, imperialism and intersectionality. For the first lecture, Vqueeram spoke on “Towards a Trans Practice of Abolition”. This was followed by Sunaina Arya who gave a lecture on “Caste, Gender and Imperialism: An International Prism”. Professor Xaxa gave the final lecture on "Tribal Assertions of Identity and Rights and Carceral Politics in India."

2023

For the first lecture of the eight edition in the series, we had prominent activist and interdisciplinary artist Aroh Akunth speak to the audience about how caste interests drive economic interests and shape political aspirations in their lecture on Caste: Queer Aspirations & Politics. For the second lecture, we has the team from Kolkata Anandan for Equality & Justice (KAEJ), Sintu Bagui, Nitai Giri and Dr. Soma Roy host a screening of their film Until & Unless which chronicles the lives of 4 transgender persons prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in NALSA. This was followed by a conversation with the guests from KAEJ. For the final lecture in the series, we had Jaya Sharma of the Kinky Collective come engage with questions of pleasure, power be consent in her lecture on An Offering from BDSM to Feminism.'

2022

Owing to the ongoing pandemic, the series was limited to a singular lecture where we engaged virtually with prominent scholar and lawyer Kiruba Munusamy who spoke to the audience on Dalit Masculinity.

2020

In the sixth part of the series, we invited Trans Rights Activist Simran Shaikh to hold a discussion on Diversity & Inclusion. The second speaker for the series, Justice Sabrina McKenna also spoke on Gender, Sexuality and the Bench: One Womxn’s Story as part of the Law, Sexuality and Society Lecture and Conversation Series.

2019

The fifth Law Sexuality & Society Lecture and Conversation Series witnessed exciting conversations from 5 key speakers which included Dhiren Borisa who spoke on Ephemeral Desires in the City: Queer Geographies and Imaginations of Freedom in Delhi, and Akshay Khanna who spoke on Between the Homophobic and the Homoerotic: Disavowal of the Erotic in the Idioms of Violence.  Jamal Siddiqui was the speaker for the third lecture and spoke on the challenges and developments in the Collectivisation of Transmen and this was followed by the lecture on Gender & Sexuality: Towards an Understanding of What Constitutes Investigative Journalism by Dhamini Ratnam. The concluding lecture in the series was by Jaya Sharma on Consent, BDSM and Beyond.

2018

As part of the fourth Law, Sexuality & Society Lecture & Conversation Series, CJLS hosted variety of speakers to address contemporary topics and issues, particularly in the domain of queer rights. Akhil Kang was the speaker for the first lecture for the series and spoke on ‘Queering Dalits’. This was followed by a conversation between Aarav Singh and Nirvair Kaur who spoke about the challenges faced by transmen and transwomen pursuant to the decision in NALSA v Union of India. The third lecture in the series interrogated the role of the law and its impact on the lives of LBT persons with Rituparna Borah as the speaker. Jaya Sharma of Kinky Collective and Manish also held a conversation on BDSM, Consent & Social Justice and the the concluding lecture of the series was by Vqueeram and Dhruba Jyoti where they engaged in a discussion on Caste and Sexuality.

2017

CJLS hosted the third Law Sexuality & Society Conversation and Lecture Series in 2016 with sessions focusing on issues of privacy, bodily autonomy liberty. Svati P Shah held the inaugural lecture for the series on   Sexuality, Privacy & the Law, especially in view of the tensions between Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the provisions of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act of 1956.  We also had Tsohil Bhatia talk to the audience about the relationship between the body and the camera in the lecture on Exploring the Nude & the Naked and Performance to a Camera. The theme of resistance was central to the conversation facilitated by Professor Veena Oldernburg in her lecture, Lifestyle as Resistance: The Courtesans of Lucknow. Colin Gonsalves also addressed issues of privacy and bodily autonomy in his conversation on Abortion in the Supreme Court of India.

2016

We hosted 6 speakers who facilitated conversations on series of topics that explored issues at the intersection of law and marginalisation. The series witnessed some exciting discussions on Law at the Intersection of Caste, Gender and Sexuality in conversation with Professor Sumit Baudh. We also had Vqueeram engage with the audience on Who is the Subject of Queer Politics and Rukmini Sen come and talk to us about Exploring the Boundaries of Legality and Transgressions in Everyday Life. Abhina Aher held a discussion on the shifting landscape of Transgender Rights Activism post the verdict in NALSA, Payoshini Mitra spoke to the intersection of Law & Sexuality in Sports. We also invited Siddharth Narain to address issues of Hate Speech, Violence & Incitement.

2015

The first part of the Law, Sexuality & Society Conversation & Lecture Series was organised in 2012 with three lectures. The first of these was on Reproductive Rights in the Indian and International Courts, with Kerry McBroom providing an overview of the same. For the second lecture, we has Professor Veena Oldenburg providing us insights into the Legal Constructions of Sexuality in Colonial Lucknow and the concluding lecture for the series was by Danish Sheikh who facilitated a conversation on the topic of Queer Liberation and Communities of Tolerance.

2012