ESA Sexuality Research Network: The Organising Local Committee: Ana Cristina Santos, Ana Lúcia Santos, and Rita Alcaire (Centro de Estudios Sociais, Univ. of Coimbra, Portugal – CES) and Mara Pieri (ESA RN23 Board) (Web)

Time: 24.-25.09.2020
Venue: CES, Coimbra, Portugal
Proposals by: 01.03.2020

• Keynote Speakers: Sue Scott, Miguel Vale de Almeida, and Sonia Corrêa

The title for this midterm conference is inspired by Lemn Sissay’s poem Making a Difference quoted by former ESA President Sue Scott in her opening speech at the 2019 ESA conference in Manchester. The poem urges researchers at all stages of their career and members of academia at large to stand out and use their embodied knowledge to break barriers and make a difference. The the ESA Sexuality Research Network draw from this powerful invitation to encourage scholars and activists alike to approach sexuality studies as a platform for change.

Gender and sexuality studies have been subject to funding cuts and obstructive state interventions leading in some instances to the closure of entire university degree programmes. Long-established oppressive and discriminatory practices and the recent advancement of right-wing populism have dire consequences for the lives of those who do not live up to ethnocentric ideals of cis and hetero normativity and normalcy.

Reflecting on these challenges, the Network wishes to stimulate discussions on how the sociological study of sexuality has been operating as a scholarly and activist tool for change and on how it can achieve even more by looking at the broader implications of sexual politics and the politics of sexuality.

How useful is the sociological study of sexuality for challenging new and old backlashes? What methodological and epistemological challenges do sexuality studies face today? What helpful disciplinary cross-fertilisations can we further stimulate? What analytical insights can the study of sexuality contribute to, and … read more (Web).