Quiet Revolution? Alternative sexualities in Europe and the post-Soviet region

Deadline: March 1, 2019

Cardiff University, UK, 19 September 2019

In light of the rising rhetoric of ‘traditional values’ in parts of Western and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, this one-day event calls for an examination of what this conservative turn and the rise of illiberal political regimes imply for the voices of marginalised and alternative sexualities[1] and their representations in the former Eastern bloc and beyond.

The symposium asks how analyses of historical legacies, cultural trends and geographical location might help us to understand and re/conceptualise alternative sexualities in the post-Soviet region and Europe at present, that is, how the way that queerness is coded responds to shifting sociopolitical, cultural and legal landscapes. The goal of the event is to bring together different strands of interdisciplinary research on sexuality and contribute to a dialogue between communities that have developed around them across the post-Soviet region and Europe.

We welcome submissions addressing the following areas:

• Sexualities, geo-temporality and shifting dynamics:
• sexualities and locality; sexual/intimate citizenship and geo-
• temporality; sexuality and geopolitics; ‘delayed’ (Borenstein,
• 2008) sexual revolutions in post-Soviet region; sexualities and
• class; sexualities and race; sexualities, mobilities and migration;
• sexualities, cultures and shifting moral regimes; regional
• appropriations of mainstream transnational sexualities
• (e.g. ‘global gay’).
• Sexualities and the body: hetero- and
• homonormativity; positionality, queerness and non-binarity;
• trans-sexuality, transgender; a/sexual and other practices;
• sexuality, body politics and citizenship; LGBT and the missing T (transgender); LGBTQ or Q? How is queerness appropriated
• and domesticated in post-communist Europe?
• Sexualities, popular culture and the media:
• heterosexism, mediated homophobia, misrecognitions and
• sensationalism; convergent media and multifaceted
• representations; social media and violence (trolling, etc.);
• performativity; visual representations of the body, over/
• sexualised masculinities and femininities; excessive aesthetics
• and sexualities, camp, Estrada; comedy and sexualities, etc.
• Sexualities, media and generations: sexuality,
• generational differences and convergent media; learning
• about sexualities (schools, other educational institutions,
• social media); representations of sexualities and different
• age groups.
• Mediated sexualities and in/exclusion: absences,
• omissions and/or visibility of sexual minorities. Reconsidering
• visibility in social media and popular culture: Does mediation
• of sexual minorities amplify diversity, foster inclusion or have
• an adverse effects and lead to compartmentalisation and
• intensifies exclusion? Commodification of mediated queerness.
• Sexuality and law:  the law, bodies and sexualities;
• Russian ‘Gay propaganda law’ of 2013 and variations; human
• rights in Russia and Europe; violence towards LGBTQ+
• persons and communities.
• Ethics & methodologies: frameworks and
• epistemologies; Western-centrism; decolonising movements;
• activism and academia; emotional and methodological
• challenges of researching alternative sexualities

Submissions:

We welcome submissions from early career scholars, established academics, as well as activists and practitioners.

Abstracts should be submitted by Friday, 1st of March 2019.

Other forms of participation (posters, creative projects, film
screenings, etc.) should be discussed in advance with the
Organising Team. You will be notified of the panel’s decision
by Monday, 15th April 2019. When sending your abstract,
please indicate whether you would like your paper to be
considered for publication in an edited volume (Routledge).

Please submit a short bio, a 300-words abstract and up to
7 keywords to: quietrev…@gmail.com

Fees:
the subsidised conference fee will cover coffee breaks,
lunch, evening reception and a welcome pack. Standard
fee is £50. Post-grad students/independent researchers’
fee is £25.

A number of bursaries for PhD students, independent
researchers and recipients from lower income regions
are available. To apply for a fee-waiver/bursary, please
indicate it in your submission and provide details.

We are happy to provide visa invitation letters and other
supporting documentation to enable participation.

Organisers
Galina Miazhevich, Cardiff University (PI) & Maria Brock, Cardiff University
This symposium is informed and supported by an AHRC
funded project ‘A Quiet Revolution? Discursive
representation of non-heteronormative sexuality in Russia’
(2018-2020) https://www.quiet-revolution.org

If travelling from outside the UK via London, Cardiff is an
easy 2-hour train journey from Paddington station. The
conference participants can benefit from a discounted
rate at Jury’s Inn hotel, Cardiff (booking code will be
provided by the organisers). Other accommodation
options and recommendations to be made available.

[1] The phrase “alternative sexuality” is purposefully
broad, and inclusive of non-conforming gender
identifications and sexual orientations and an
intersectionality of gender and sexual expressions.