With humorous and challenging biographical stories—being a “gay” child and a “trans” child—becoming in her teens an Evangelical Christian to embrace her queerness—Stockton will tell how she came to Utah in 1987 and immediately led a curriculum revolution in the Women’s Studies Program, before becoming among the first scholars in the country to teach a course in “queer theory” (here, of all places).  Prepare to learn what queer theory is; why time in divinity school laid her ground for it; why a theorist would ever consent to being a dean and a vice president; and why we might make seductive kindness the face of our very rational anger.

In the wake of Stonewall, as LGBTQ+ communities across the country began to emerge from the shadows, one man became the unlikely architect of Utah’s queer public life. Forgotten Leader: Joe Redburn and the Rise of LGBTQ+ Utah tells the story of Joseph Willis Redburn—a pioneering radio host, political firebrand, and the founder of Salt Lake City’s legendary Sun Tavern. Known as the "father of LGBTQ+ Utah," Redburn helped build the early infrastructure of queer community in one of America’s most conservative states.

Through a deep dive into Redburn’s activism, broadcasting career, and audacious creation of queer spaces in the 1970s and ’80s, this lecture not only uncovers the triumphs and heartbreaks of a radical trailblazer but also reveals the fragility of queer institutions and the forgotten fates of our elders. Join us for a powerful conversation about memory, marginalization, and the legacy of those who built our movements—only to be left behind by them.