Dr. Christopher Breu, professor of English, is distinguished by having their forthcoming monograph, In Defense of Sex: Nonbinary Embodiment and Desire, selected for inclusion in the Knowledge Unlatched 2025 program. In Defense of Sex, which will be published by Fordham University Press in November, “examines the need to recenter the category of sex–theorizing sex itself as nonbinary–in contemporary studies of gender and sexuality.” Breu shared that “the book defends sex both as a nonbinary form of embodiment (understanding it, like recent accounts of gender in trans theory, as multiple) and as a crucial form of nonbinary desire, one that animates not only our erotic life but also collective forms of social interaction and possibility.”
Breu’s monograph is one of 20 university press books to have been selected for the Knowledge Unlatched KU Select 2025 Gender Equality SDG 5 Collection. The KU Select collections are aligned with several sustainable development goals (SDGs) advanced by the United Nations, specifically: No Poverty (SDG 1); Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3); Gender Equality (SDG 5); Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8); Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10); Climate Action (SDG13); and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16). In curating collections based on SDG, Knowledge Unlatched seeks to elevate timely and societally relevant topics in humanities and social sciences.
Knowledge Unlatched identifies excellent academic books and crowdsources funding to make them freely available to readers worldwide—not just those affiliated with resource-rich institutions. This process maintains the rigor of the review and publication process associated with university presses while also bringing valuable content to broader audiences. The College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English, Milner Library, and Office of Research and Graduate Studies are pleased to support Breu and the KU Select 2025 Gender Equality SDG 5 Collection. Investing a small amount of money in this initiative not only increases the impact of our scholarly productivity, but also advances university values of equity, diversity, and access.
Dr. Craig C. McLauchlan, associate vice president for Research and Graduate Studies, said he was “pleased to see several university units band together to support making this work open access so that it can be more widely available to the world. Congratulations to Dr. Breu on the publication of the tome and for selection for inclusion in the series!” The University provides a variety of mechanisms to support scholarly and creative activities, including the dissemination of research outputs. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs offers a variety of internal grants including book subvention support, proposal development travel grants, publication grants, student research grants, and university research grants. Milner Library has partnered to support open access publishing via agreements, memberships, and pledges. Please reach out to Milner Library’s Scholarly Communication Team to discuss support for disseminating your work.
