Beyond Radical: Queer Theory and the UK

超越激进：酷儿理论与英国

• 批准号: AH/X006948/1
• 负责人: Ben Nichols
• 金额: $ 3.78万
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX006948%2F1
• 关键词: Beyond; Radical; Queer; Theory; UK

The purpose of this Network is both infrastructural and intellectual. On the one hand, it is intended to establish some of the scholarly support structures that have been missing for research in queer studies in the UK for some time. Queer theory has been having a significant impact on UK researchers for decades, yet without national infrastructure such as annual conferences, scholarly associations and dedicated journals, we have yet to realise the full benefits of coordinating this extensive research activity. At the same time, the network will demonstrate the value that this infrastructure could bring by pursuing a vibrant intellectual agenda situated at the cutting-edge of queer studies scholarship. We are at an interesting moment in the history of queer thought. The interventions around theorising sexuality that became known as 'queer theory' have now had a more than 30-year-long life. This has prompted some scholars to suggest that the radical impetus behind these interventions has faded, while at the same time many researchers now are energised by other fields of gender and sexuality studies, such as trans studies, which are seen to be closer to more urgent social and political issues. We take this point of transition in the intellectual and political energy behind queer thought to be an excellent moment to take stock and reflect on the future orientations of queerness, which may well depart from the basis on which it has proceeded up to now.At the same time, in the UK, as elsewhere, we face an unusual mixture of social pressures. These come from the legacy of Brexit, the continuing international impact of Black Lives Matter, reckoning with colonial histories, fierce culture wars around social values, and the ongoing environmental crisis. We take this unusual conjuncture of factors to be a moment to ask not only whether queer theoretical scholarship needs to attend to different objects (as has been argued in the past in similarly fraught moments: Eng, Halberstam and Munoz 2005), but whether we might think of how some of its defining orientations could change. Consequently, our networking activities will concentrate on developing new agendas in four central areas, each of which addresses a foundational aspect of queer studies thinking and research: 1) Radicalism-reflecting critically on the history and current place of the 'radical' in queer theory; 2) Trans/Queer-examining the relation between 'queer' and 'trans' in the UK, when these are increasingly separated elsewhere; 3) Vernacular Identities-exploring the anti-identitarianism of queer theory and how this squares with the oft-discussed expansion of gender and sexual identity categories in recent years; 4) Queer Forms/Objects-investigating where queer 'theory' has been located and asking what scholarly objects or aesthetic forms have tended to have been deemed suitable as the basis for theory-makingFor each strand, we will hold a one-day in-person networking event involving a range of both academic and non-academic network members and using a range of approaches to facilitate discussion, exchange and the generation of ideas. While non-academic voices will thread through each strand, for each one we will also feature activities designed to extend the reach, impact or longevity of the main event: whether a public engagement event, an ECR-focused networking event, or a follow-on grant workshop. While the Network is led from the University of Manchester, it is also supported both practically and intellectually by a Steering Group: Elliot Evans (Birmingham), Sam McBean (QMUL), Rahul Rao (St Andrews), Sam Solomon (Sussex), and Xine Yao (UCL)The Network will produce a range of academic and non-academic events, a project website featuring blog posts and other pieces of commissioned writing on the network's themes, and a special issue of a UK-based journal featuring the most innovative and exciting papers from the Network's activities.

该网络的目的既是基础设施，也是智力。一方面，它旨在建立一些学术支持结构，这些结构在英国的酷儿研究中已经缺失了一段时间。几十年来，酷儿理论一直对英国研究人员产生重大影响，但由于缺乏年度会议、学术协会和专业期刊等国家基础设施，我们尚未意识到协调这一广泛研究活动的全部好处。与此同时，该网络将通过追求位于酷儿研究学术前沿的充满活力的智力议程来展示这种基础设施可能带来的价值。我们正处于古怪思想历史上一个有趣的时刻。围绕着性行为理论化的干预，后来被称为“酷儿理论”，现在已经有30多年的历史了。这促使一些学者提出，这些干预措施背后的激进动力已经消退，与此同时，许多研究人员现在被性别和性行为研究的其他领域所鼓舞，例如被视为更接近更紧迫的社会和政治问题的跨性别研究。我们认为，酷儿背后的智力和政治能量的这一转折点，是评估和反思未来酷儿取向的绝佳时刻，很可能偏离目前的基础。与此同时，在英国，就像在其他地方一样，我们面临着不同寻常的社会压力。这些问题来自英国退欧的遗留问题、《黑人的命也是命》的持续国际影响、对殖民历史的考量、围绕社会价值观的激烈文化战争，以及持续的环境危机。我们把这种不同寻常的因素结合在一起，不仅要问酷儿理论学术是否需要关注不同的对象(就像过去在类似令人担忧的时刻：Eng，Halberstam和Munoz 2005所说的那样)，而且我们是否可以考虑它的一些定义方向可能会如何改变。因此，我们的网络活动将集中于在四个中心领域开发新的议程，每个领域都涉及酷儿研究思维和研究的一个基本方面：1)激进主义--批判性地反思“激进”在酷儿理论中的历史和现状；2)跨性/酷儿--考察英国的“酷儿”和“跨性别者”之间的关系，当这两者在其他地方越来越分开的时候；3)白话身份--探索酷儿理论的反身份认同主义，以及这如何与近年来经常讨论的性别和性别身份类别的扩展相一致；4)酷儿形式/对象--调查酷儿理论的位置，询问哪些学术对象或美学形式倾向于被认为适合作为理论制作的基础。对于每一条线索，我们将举行为期一天的面对面交流活动，包括一系列学术和非学术网络成员，并使用一系列方法来促进讨论、交流和思想的产生。虽然非学术声音将贯穿每一条线索，但对于每一条线索，我们还将举办旨在扩大主要活动的覆盖范围、影响或寿命的活动：无论是公共参与活动、ECR重点网络活动，还是后续拨款研讨会。虽然该网络由曼彻斯特大学领导，但它也得到了一个指导小组的实际和智力支持：埃利奥特·埃文斯(伯明翰)、山姆·麦克宾(QMUL)、拉胡尔·拉奥(圣安德鲁斯)、山姆·所罗门(苏塞克斯)和辛姚(伦敦大学学院)。网络将制作一系列学术和非学术活动，一个项目网站，以博客文章和其他委托撰写的关于网络主题的文章为特色，以及一份英国期刊的特刊，刊登网络活动中最具创新性和激动人心的论文。