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About the 2026 Symposium

Theme: Critical Hope: Queering Care, Belonging, and Survival

In a sociopolitical climate where queer and trans communities are increasingly marginalized and victimized, we center strategies for care, belonging, and survival. We honor the role that hope, a survival strategy filled with complexity and contradiction, can play in helping us to collectively work toward a more compassionate and liberated future. We recognize a need to investigate and interrogate our current realities, challenge oppressive systems, and create caring communities to survive and thrive. While we invite presentation proposals within this  theme, we welcome presentation proposals on a range of topics and within myriad disciplines. 

Questions? Email us at lgbtqresearch@ku.edu

2026 Symposium Sponsors

We would like to thank and recognize our sponsoring organizations for this year’s LGBTQ+ Research Symposium.

Without these organization’s contributions, our work would not be possible.

Co-Hosts:

• University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
• University of Connecticut School of Social Work

Co-Sponsors:

• Willow Wisdom
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work