Queer sexualities, nationalism and racism in the new Europe

Conference venue: London (United Kingdom)
Period: Oct. 19, 2012
Deadline for submitting abstracts: Aug. 15, 2012

Over the last few years, debates about racism and nationalism have received renewed critical attention within sexuality studies.
However, the purpose of the conference is to produce new exclusions, in a context marked by the rise of defensive and inward-looking nationalisms, by the lingering ‘war on terror’, by increased mobilities within Europe and by initiatives aimed at limiting migration towards ‘Fortress Europe’; important questions are raised about the relationship between the national belonging in different European contexts and the sexual citizenship.
The confirmed speakers for this conference are: Dr Francesca Stella, Dr Antoine Rogers, Dr Shaminder Takhar and Professor Yvette Taylor (all Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research); James Morton (Scottish Transgender Alliance); Dr Isabel Crowhurst (Kingston); Sam Rankin (Equality Network); Dr Róisín Ryan-Flood (Essex); Dr Asifa Siraj (independent researcher); Jane Standing (Kairos in Soho); Dr Mariya Stoilova and Dr Robert Kulpa (Birkbeck); and Dr Matthew Waites (Glasgow).
The final roundtable will be chaired by Professor Jeffrey Weeks (Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research).
The conference will be followed by the social event “B.Y.O.B. – Bring your own Blackness”, an evening of imagery, poetry and prose to celebrate Black History Month.

Suggested themes are:

Submit proposed abstracts of up to 250 words, to Dr Francesca Stella, stellaf@lsbu.ac.uk, enclosing your contact details, and save your abstracts with author name followed by Queer_Sexualities_2012. (e.g. Smith_Queer_Sexualities_2012).

Dr Francesca Stella
Weeks Centre for policy and Social Research
tel.: 0044 020 7815 5850
e-mail: stellaf@lsbu.ac.uk