In states across the country, conservative lawmakers and university governing boards are purging what they describe as gender ideology from college campuses. As part of a larger backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, several universities have in recent years shut down women’s and gender-studies programs and closed LGBTQ-focused campus spaces. These developments are particularly worrying to Judith Butler, a pioneer of queer theory whose 1990 book, Gender Trouble, is considered a seminal work of the field. But what does Butler, a distinguished professor in the Graduate School at the University of California at Berkeley, have to say to the increasingly vocal critics of the discipline they helped to popularize?

Related reading

Berkeley Professor Explains Gender Theory (Big Think) 

Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI (The Chronicle) 

This President Defended Taking Pride Flags Off Faculty Windows. Now She’s Paused the Practice. (The Chronicle) 

Berkeley’s Judith Butler Revels in Role of Troublemaker (The Chronicle)

Guest

Judith Butler, distinguished professor in the Graduate School at UC-Berkeley 

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