PUNISHMENT AND VENGEANCE: Lecturer Sasha Abramsky of the UC Davis Writing Program plans a May 29 colloquium on his new book, American Furies: Crime, Punishment and Vengeance in an Age of Mass Imprisonment.

In an announcement, Abramsky said he found that prisons have dumped their age-old goal of rehabilitation, often for political reasons. "The new ideal, unknown to most Americans, is a punitive mandate marked by a drive toward vengeance," he said.

"California's 'three-strikes' law typifies the politics that exploit the grief of victims' families and our fears of violent crime."

The colloquium is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. in 1291 Social Sciences and Humanities Building. Abramsky also announced that he will read from his new book at 7:30 p.m. June 15 at the Avid Reader bookstore, 617 Second St., Davis.

QUEERNESS AND VIOLENCE: The 2007 Queer Studies Graduate Symposium is set for June 2, with queerness and violence as the theme.

The sponsors are the Queer Research Cluster; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center; Cross Cultural Center; Graduate Student Assembly; Cultural Studies Graduate Group; and Department of English.

Organizers said Jasbir Puar, associate professor of women's studies at Rutgers University, will deliver the keynote address, "In Retrospect: Terrorist Assemblages and Homonationalism in Queer Times." The program also includes panels featuring graduate students.

The symposium is set to run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the keynote address at 1:30 p.m., in 206 Olson Hall.

More information: lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu.