The Intercollegiate Women’s Studies of The Claremont Colleges, based at Scripps College, hosts the international conference “Mapping Adoption: Histories, Geographies, Literatures, Politics” from March 22 to 25. Keynote lectures, film screenings, performances, and plenary panels are free and open to the public and take place in the Humanities Auditorium, Scripps College, 981 N. Amherst Ave.
“Ours is unique among adoption conferences, bringing together scholars, artists, and creative writers to examine the experiences and practices of adoption. This year, we also address other practices that create or separate families, such as foster care, reproductive technologies, and forced separations that result from state policies,” said Susan Castagnetto, coordinator of the intercollegiate women’s studies program and conference co-organizer.
Acclaimed writer Dan Chaon opens the conference with a keynote address at 7:30 p.m. on March 22. Chaon is the author of “Among the Missing,” a finalist for the National Book Award and “You Remind Me of Me,” selected as one of the year’s best books by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Christian Science Monitor. On March 18, the Los Angeles Times reviewed his recently released book, “Stay Awake: Stories.”
Plenary panels explore the topics “Transracial Adoption” and “The State and Family Separation,” and take place at 10:30 a.m. on March 23 and March 24, respectively. The documentaries “Ask Us Who We Are: Foster Care in Vermont” and “Made in India” screen at 7:30 p.m. on March 23 and March 24, respectively.
Catherine Ceniza Choy, associate professor of ethnic studies and Asian American studies at the University of California, Berkeley, gives the second keynote at 4:30 p.m. on March 23. The lecture is based on her current book project “Global Families: A History of Asian International Adoption in America,” which addresses the international adoption of Asian children since World War II.
On March 24 at 4:30 p.m., actor Brian Stanton performs his one-person, 12-character play, “Blank,” about his search for identity as an adoptee. The conference includes more than 90 presentations. Click here to register.