2009

Sexuality and Economy

research group (Berlin), 2007-2010
The research group focuses on thinking about the entire range of relationships that link sexuality, gender, and economics. How are the histories of capitalism and sexuality interconnected? Are changes in what Foucault calls the deployment of sexuality overlap with the development of capitalism? A historical perspective provides a framework for further questions: How can a queer theoretical critique of heteronormativity contribute to the critique of capitalism? How can we resist the dominance of capitalism and the heteronormative structuring of gender and sexuality? Which alternative models and queer (economic) utopias are thinkable – and liveable? In 2007 a two-day workshop discussed these questions extensively. The workshop built on outcomes from regular meetings that took place prior to the event in order to come up with ideas for an international conference. Major topics included: Rethinking capitalism from a monolithic concept into heterogeneous capitalisms; the role of desire in upholding or transforming capitalist relations; the promise and problems of pleasurable identification with labour relations under neoliberal conditions.

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Queer Futurities
– Today. Utopias and Beyond in Queer Theory

international symposium with evening lecture, Finnland-Institut, Berlin, 18./19. Mai 2009
The symposium, with an opening keynote by Lee Edelman, asks about untimely utopias, which are inhabited by those who interrupt the here and now, who occupy positions which are yet to be articulated, who have learned to hope for times that will open up new spaces and who never cease to re-invent themselves.

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The Sexual Politics of Utopia

Workshop, WirrWarr, Berlin, 17. Mai 2009
How can we develop political strategies, that subvert the homonormative compromise, heteronormative premises, and the desire for a predictable socio-sexual identity? We invite you to participate in a creative workshop that brings about futures that do not promise a future.

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