I know most of you must have thought I disappeared from the blog world. Apparently, I’ve found something I am unreliable about. I’d tell you it has been a crazy semester, but that would be a bad excuse. I’d promise to do better, but its a promise I’m not sure I can keep. So, instead, I’ll just post (for the second time in one night) about something I’ve been doing some work on … helping to start the LGBTQA Caucus of the ISA.

The purposes of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, and Allies Caucus of the International Studies Association (hereafter the LGBTQA Caucus of ISA) are:

A. To promote fair and equal treatment of members of the Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Bisexual, and Queer (hereafter LGBTQ) community in the International Studies Association (hereafter ISA) and in the profession of international studies, in areas including but not limited to graduate school admission, financial assistance in schools, employment, tenure, and promotion.
B. To combat discrimination against and provide support for LGBTQ faculty, student, and professional members of the International Studies Association.
C. To encourage the application of the skills of scholars and students of international studies to combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
D. To promote the recruitment of new members to the Caucus specifically and ISA generally.

The Caucus will be voted on at the Governing Council Meeting on February 16, 2010. The petition with initial signatories (well more than the required 50) have been turned in already, but I’m posting this here both to let you know it is under consideration, and also to let you know that, if you’d like to express your support for the group, signatures are still being accepted. If you’d like to find out more, drop me an email.