Bronte Cronsberry: ‘If this is your path, as it is mine’

Thinking about Queer History, the Academy, and Transgender Advocacy

Through a reflection on their past advocacy work and the need for changing approaches in a darkening political climate, Bronte explores questions of education, claims to academic authority, and the experience of queer and transgender youth. Bronte is particularly interested in drawing out the ways in which intellectual and creative practices are foundational for more formalized advocacy work.

Bronte Cronsberry (they/them) is a PhD candidate in Theory and Criticism at Western University. They work from a queer and non-binary perspective with a focus on how intellectual community and dialogue can form outside of the traditional academy. Bronte is interested in the application of Hannah Arendt’s theories about the public realm and a community of peers to education and equity. Bronte’s work has been previously published in Comparative Woman, The Journal of Curatorial Studies, and The Senses and Society.

Bronte is a guest of the second-year SASAH course, "Cultures of Advocacy." All are welcomed to join for this guest presentation. Students in the class were assigned (and visitors from beyond the class are invited to read) Susan Stryker's essay, "My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage" in The Transgender Studies Reader Remix edited by Susan Stryker, 129-151. New York: Routledge, 2023.