Questions as the following will be discussed: How does the respective discipline approach the topic of in/equalities in terms of theories, methods, concepts and empirical case studies? Which questions guide the discussion on in/equalities n the specific research area? In which direction could current theories/methods be constructively developed? These discussions are crucial for the elaboration of joint projects in the future.
Date: 16 - 17 November 2023
University of Graz, SR 09.23, Heinrichstraße 26, 2nd floor
Keynote lecture: What is progress? LGBT rights and theimaginary of Europe through Enlargement
Koen Slootmaeckers (City, University of London, Department of International Politics)
LGBT rights have become increasingly salient within the EU enlargement process as a litmus test for Europeanness. But the promotion of these norms has provided a basis for political contestation. This lecture interrogates the normative dimensions of the EU enlargement process, with special reference to LGBT politics. In this talk, Koen Slootmaeckers is engaging in a critical conversation with the way in which LGBT rights are imagined within European politics. Through this analysis, he calls for new politics, a new approach to LGBT equality that moves away from rights based approaches towards a politics that centres the lives of people, that no longer seeks to find progress where it can, but instead focusses on those that are left behind. Through this work, Koen Slootmaeckers calls to action the ethical obligation scholars have in their work to highlight where violence occurs and persists and to provide routes for avenues toward a queer peace.
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