Birkbeck Institute for Social Research Winter Colloquium
Friday 22nd January 2010, 9.30am-5pm
University of London, Birkbeck College Main Building, Room 541
Sexualities, as aspects of identity and as part of the public language of nation, are a controversial feature of post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Radical political changes have led to the emergence of new social actors, such as the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) movement, the airing of new discourses about sexuality, as well as the eruption of new social conflicts and divisions.
This interdisciplinary Colloquium will bring together scholars in the social sciences, history, Slavic and other area studies, as well as activists from LGBT communities, to examine the relationships between gender, nation and sexuality. How, for example, did the emergence of revised national identities after 1989 relate to new conceptions of non-normative gender and sexuality?
What were the local dimensions of the ‚lesbian and gay question‘, and why did they develop? How did queer sexualities in this region evolve historically? And what influence does that historical legacy have today? What are the specificities and particularities of Central and Eastern European sexual identities, within the region and compared with Western and other non-Western formations?
There will be a screening of the film „Beyond the Pink Curtain“ (2009) and a discussion with Director Matthew Charles at 3pm on Thursday 21st January in the Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square.
Numbers are strictly limited, so please register early.
Cost, includes vegetarian lunch: £25 Standard £10 Birkbeck staff and all students. Payment is by credit/debit card – Standard Booking Form