Research Area 3: Cultural Transformation and Performativity Studies

International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture,
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Otto-Behaghel-Str. 12,
Conference room

Queerversity, a refined version of diversity, arouses interest in the complexity of difference – its intersectional interdependency and aesthetic or re/presentational modes. It strengthens modes of difference beyond classification: ambiguity, multiplicity, singularity, alterity. As an ethical or political principle, queerversity engages trans*versal justice in order to find nonviolent and respectful ways of dealing difference. Yet, what does it mean to propose queerversity also as an aesthetic principle? In this talk I will sketch queerversity as an aesthetic principle which can be detected in and fosters cultural or artistic practices that overcome addictions to binary oppositions and classificatory thinking. It aims at finding pleasure in complexity, confusion, and conflict in order to overcome the violence of normalcy.

Antke A. Engel (Dr. phil.) is a philosopher working in the fields of queer theory, poststructuralist philosophy, and visual cultural studies. In 2006 Engel has founded the Institute for Queer Theory (iQt) in Berlin (http://www.queer-institut.de) and since then functions as its director. They were Asa Briggs fellow at the University of Sussex and visiting fellow at the Gender Institute of the London School of Economics as well as the Institute of Cultural Inquiry Berlin, and since 2003 regularly holds guest professorships in Gender and Queer Studies. On a guest professorship at FernUni Hagen they released in 2021 open access introductory videos to queer theory (https://e.feu.de/queer-theory-videos). Engel co-edited Hegemony and Heteronormativity (2011) and Global Justice and Desire: Queering Economy (2015), and published numerous essays and the monographs Wider die Eindeutigkeit (2002), Bilder von Sexualität und Ökonomie (2009) and Queer Theorie – Queer_Pädagogik (2024).

• How do we recognize sexuality within artworks? To what extent is our ‘radar’ influenced by highly subjective, subconscious, as well as socially ingrained desires? Can we rely on our methodical lens, and what are its blind spots?
• How do affects like arousal, shame, or disgust come into play when interpreting such artworks? Should we incorporate them in our research - how (not)?
• What language should we employ to convey our findings? How does an objective jargon sterilize the message or perpetuate the hegemonic methods of Western "scientia sexualis"? Conversely, would a more colloquial or poetic "ars erotica" overstimulate and distract from academic findings?

This Masterclass will be of particular interest to researchers in the fields of art history, sexuality, gender and queer studies, but it also offers valuable insights for scholars working on different topics that similarly navigate delicate intersections of intimacy and the public sphere (e.g. mental health, emotions, death, …). Your active participation will enrich the depth and diversity of the discussions, fostering a supportive environment for emerging scholars to explore these critical questions.

Keynote Lecture: "Scientia Sexualis - A Curatorial Project"

In this lecture, Jennifer Doyle shares her collaboration with Jeanne Vaccaro on Scientia Sexualis, an exhibition of contemporary art which takes up the intersection of sex and science. She will share the exhibition's defining questions and challenges, reflect on the history of queer and feminist work in this space and situate this project in relation to the ongoing fight for bodily autonomy and sexual liberty. Scientia Sexualis will open in the fall of 2024 at the Institute for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a regional festival sponsored by The Getty. 

In der Videoarbeit „Who's listening? 5“ des taiwanesischen Künstlers Tseng Yu-Chin (2003-2004) werden auf einem Sofa mit weißem Überwurf spielerische aber keineswegs harmlose Aktionen zwischen Mutter und Sohn im Split-Screen-Modus gezeigt, z.B. Anfassen, Bemächtigen, Küssen, Feixen, Ausweichen. Dieses „Übergreifen“ spielt nicht nur im Bild eine Rolle, sondern auch bezogen auf die Wirkung, die die künstlerische Arbeit auf das hiesige Publikum hat. Ein mögliches Gesprächsthema könnte sein, ob hier durch die ästhetische Form eine Art Verführungsfantasie nicht nur gezeigt, sondern auch agiert wird. Welche Qualitäten sind diesen Formen des Übergreifens eigen, wie verhält sich eine potenzielle „Übergriffigkeit“ des Sexuellen z.B. zu Konsenskonzepten – und welche Möglichkeiten bietet ein psychoanalytisches Vokabular für solche Analysen?

Keynote-Lecture: "Aesthetics of the Sexual - On Sheaths, Scenes, and Screens"

He brings a condom into play, she – mocking him – blows it up like a balloon. This sequence from "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (USA 1977) is quoted in the film "Test" (USA 2013), set in the gay 1980s San Francisco modern dance milieu. Based on the composition of such scenes and going beyond the actual use of the condom, this lecture deals with interlayers and screens, the performance character of sexuality and the aesthetic constitution of the latter.

Prof. Dr. Insa Härtel is a Permanent Senior Research Fellow at the University of Art in Linz at the Department of Cultural Studies / Institute of Fine Arts and Cultural Studies and works as a psychotherapist for children, adolescents and young adults in Hamburg . From 2012-2022 she was a Professor of Cultural Studies with a focus on cultural theory and psychoanalysis at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin (IPU).  Currently she is working on a book entitled “Aesthetics of the Sexual” (Ästhetik des Sexuellen). Selected publications: „Reibung und Reizung. Psychoanalyse, Kultur und deren Wissenschaft“ (ed.), Hamburg: textem Verlag 2021; “Kinder der Erregung. »Übergriffe« und »Objekte« in kulturellen Konstellationen kindlich- jugendlicher Sexualität”, Bielefeld: transcript 2014. Insa Härtel is a participant of the editorial board at „RISS. Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse“.