Troubled by the status quo? We call for a new status queer!

As significant cultural changes in social reality are reflected and reinforced by representations in popular culture (with the law arguably lagging behind), we seek to question the status quo and look for examples of the creation of the new “status queer.”

We also want to update our understanding of what “status queer” is here and now: in contemporary social context, including politics, academia or activism. How is “status queer” being performed, reproduced or challenged in Polish society? Who is involved in this process, and why? How is queerness interconnected with gender/race/citizenship/disability and class within social practices or institutions? How far does the new queer culture go in calling into question the old social and political order? Does it always subvert it, or can it be integrated into old structures of power?

The aim of the conference is to create an opportunity for MA and BA students at the American Studies Center and Institute of Applied Social Sciences to present their research projects and facilitate an exchange of inspiring ideas. In hopes of creating an interdisciplinary, bilingual platform to discuss topics and methods related to Poland and the United States, we invite 10-15 minute-long presentations on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

‣ representation of gender in pop culture
‣ transgender and non-binary identities
‣ political conflicts over sexual minorities
‣ hegemonic and subaltern masculinities
‣ intersections of race and gender/sexuality
‣ intersections of class and gender/sexuality
‣ intersections of dis/ability and gender/sexuality
‣ histories of gender and sexual identities in the US or Poland
‣ the importance of gender/sexuality in the media
‣ non-normative sexualities in culture and society
‣ political struggles over gender equality
‣ history of feminisms and feminist debates today
‣ new methodologies in queer and gender studies
‣ living contemporary feminist & queer lives
‣ doing LGBTQ+ and queer activism in the US or Poland
‣ queering social life and institutions: emancipatory ideas and practices
‣ resisting homo- and transphobia
‣ resisting patriarchy
‣ cruising queer utopias and feminist futures

If you have a final paper that you are particularly proud of or if you are working on a B.A. paper or M.A. thesis that reflects on these topics, feel free to apply to the conference. New research is also welcome. You may present your research in Polish or in English.

The conference will be held on 26-27 April, 2024 at the University of Warsaw. All presenters will be invited to a free lunch during the conference. Conference participation is free of charge. The ASC presenters will be granted a grade of 5 for OZN!

Application deadline: March 1, 2024.
Acceptance notification: March 15, 2024.

Apply through a Google Form you will find here.

Organizing Committee:
Kamila Bagińska, Anna Maria Grzybowska, Mikołaj Szczerba, Miranda Zarzycka, Ludmiła Janion, Anna Kurowicka, Łukasz Mikołajewski, Marta Rawłuszko

 The conference is funded by:

Organizers

News

Changes in Dr. Gajda-Łaszewska’s office hours schedule

June 26, 2024

Dr. Gajda-Łaszewska will be available in the office on Tuesday (2 July 2024), 1:30-3:30 pm and online (ZOOM) on Thursday (4 July 2024), 12:00-2:00 pm.

June 17-18: Polish-language conference „Jak uczyć o płci i seksualności? Interdyscyplinarność, instytucjonalizacja, zaangażowanie społeczne.”

June 17, 2024

Konferencja „Jak uczyć o płci i seksualności? Interdyscyplinarność, instytucjonalizacja, zaangażowanie społeczne” ma na celu stworzenie przestrzeni, w której mogą się spotkać społeczności akademickie, aktywistyczne, artystyczne, eksperckie tworzące i przekazujące wiedzę o płci i seksualności. Jaka mogłaby być dziś edukacja seksualna? Gdzie jest miejsce na feministyczny i queerowy aktywizm w akademii? Czy słowem kluczowym jest „równość” czy „nierówności”? Czy potrafimy wspólnie wyobrazić sobie studia magisterskie o płci i seksualności w Polsce? Zapraszamy na 6 paneli dyskusyjnych.

Year 2023/2024

June 11: Biosocial Groups, Biosocial Criminals – the Body and Medicine as Organizing Agents

June 11, 2024

Weird Fictions Research Group cordially invites you to the very last event this semester! The lecture will show how medical anthropology and cultural studies can shed light on medicine-related social and cultural phenomena.

Year 2023/2024

June 6: Marketing Barbie’s “Curvy New Body”: Mattel’s Fashionistas Line and its Legacy Brand Politics

June 6, 2024

We would like to invite you to an upcoming lecture given by a Fulbright Scholar, Doctor Rebecca C. Hains! During this lecture, you will have the pleasure of listening to Dr. Hains’s exploration of Barbie from the feminist perspective, the history of Barbie’s body type, and the feminist critique around it. The talk will also discuss the PR surrounding the “Curvy” Barbies’ release, a topic that has sparked many intense debates.

Year 2023/2024

June 5: Dissecting Theater: Medical Horror on Stage

June 5, 2024

Weird Fictions Research Group cordially invites you to a penultimate event this semester! We will discuss the ways in which medicine and theater are correlated and how medical horror stories can thrive on stage. We will explore the universal nature of theater by analyzing the sources of fear in Starkid’s The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals as well.