Cornell University Associate Professor of Africana Studies C. Riley Snorton kicked off the University of Chicago's ( UChicago's ) Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality ( CSGS ) speaker series with a talk—"Fleshy Encounters: Black Feminisms and the Mutability of Gender"—Feb. 19 at UChicago's CSGS building.

Snorton has received multiple fellowships and is the author of two books—Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low and Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity. His writing is also featured in Black Scholar, the International Journal of Communication, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics and Culture, and Society.

Following a brief introduction by CSGS Faculty Director Kristen Schilt, Snorton told the approximately 50 people in attendance that his "research explores the relations between and among the signs Black, queer and trans historically and contemporarily."

Snorton explained that he uses Black feminist theory, literary criticism, performance theory, disability studies, media studies and other fields to interrogate and illuminate how race, sex and/or gender drives how one interacts and perceives the world.

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