‘Why We Need Queer Kinship Now More Than Ever: Lessons from German History’ –
Professor Jennifer Evans (Carleton University)
This lecture asks us to think about how the queer and trans past has often been drawn upon to make a series of claims about liberal democracy itself, including the place of identity in rights-based discourses of experience, policy and governance. Drawing on lessons from German history, Professor Evans argues that in celebrating decriminalization and the attainment of key social rights, we have forgotten that not everyone benefited equally from these gains, as in fact there were many different forms of solidarity and struggle.
Using kinship as an analytic category allows us to uncover that phenomenon, to seek out the fraught as well as productive ways in which Germans have confronted race, gender nonconformity, and sexuality in social movements, art and everyday life. The lecture therefore tells the story of entanglements and alliances, desire over respectability, and good and bad kin, as queer and trans people have tested new possibilities for life, love and family life in the modern era.
For more information and to book a place:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/southampton-stonewall-lecture-2024-tickets-713131855577