“The Fictions That Shape Men’s Lives”
Join us for this online guest talk by Dr. Christopher Kilmartin on November 16, at 17:00 (CEST).
To register, please RSVP via email at stefan.rabitsch@uni-graz.at by Monday, November 15 (midnight)
The Fictions that Shape Men’s Lives is structured around a number of key ‘fictions’ of masculinity, such as beliefs in biological determinism, the inevitability of men’s violence and the opposition of the sexes, and proceeds to expose them to be wholly or partially unfounded. Examining the social pressure to behave and experience the self in ways that culture prescribes for the bodies we are perceived as having, this lecture provides an awareness of widely-held but distorted assumptions of gender. It also seeks to put men into the position to resist masculine social pressures when conforming to it conflicts with important life goals or values and/ or causes harm. Making use of an informal, storytelling style provides an accessibility to those interested in breaking down their preconceptions of gender and masculinity, as well making links to key theories and concepts.
Dr. Christopher Kilmartin is an emeritus college professor, author, stand-up comedian, actor, playwright, consultant, and professional psychologist. He retired in 2016 as Professor of Psychology at The University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been consulting with businesses, college students, human services workers, athletic departments, the military, and counselors for many years. His major scholarly work is The Masculine Self (6th edition Sloan, 2019), which has also been translated into Korean. His latest book is The Fictions that Shape Men’s Lives (Routledge, 2021). An integration of his scholarly and performing interests, he has performed Crimes Against Nature, a solo theatre performance on men’s issues, on over 150 campuses and at other venues.