Queer@King's

Queer@King's is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary group of researchers that has been operating in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities since 2003. After playing a pioneering role in the research culture of the University of London by bringing together colleagues interested in gender and sexuality, Queer@King's became one of the Faculty's official centres in 2006. 

Indebted to the social-political and intellectual-conceptual energies and concerns of queer theory as it emerged in the 1990s and to the earlier and concurrent LGBT liberation movements, Queer@King's aims to be an institutionalised irritant to the  institutional context in which it exists. Our Centre is committed to being an inclusive, non-hierarchical, multivocal collective that provides a supportive and stimulating environment for queer work within and beyond the academy. We strive to be an accessible community of students and scholars irrespective of seniority or disciplinary background, with a clear awareness of our role as an ally, advocate, and collaborator for queer activism, art, and community work. As such, Queer@King's is first and foremost a gathering place and a facilitator for the ideas and projects of individuals and groups that fall within the Centre's remit, whether they are researchers, students, activists, practitioners, or any combinations thereof. 

Originally set up to organise a major international conference, 'Queer Matters', which took place in King's in May 2004, we have since then organised each year research seminars, public lectures, one-day symposia, readings, performances and other events on queer topics. Previous distinguished victors include: Sara Ahmed, Carolyn Dinshaw, Laura Doan, Lisa Duggan, Lee Edelman, Sarah Franklin, Judith Halberstam, David Halperin, Nadine Hubbs, Mark Jordan, Heather Love, Madhavi Menon, Mandy Merck, José Muñoz, Peggy Phelan, Alan Sinfield, Stephen Whittle and Michael Warner.

The Queer@King’s programme also regularly features contributions from major artists, literary figures, filmmakers and political activists. Previous events have included: Travis Alabanza, Ron Athey, Neil Bartlett, Mark Doty, Amber Hollibaugh, Alan Hollinghurst, Isaac Julien, Kiki and Herb, Frank McGuinness, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Victoria Sin, Del LaGrace Volcano, Edmund White and Cui Zi’en.

The Centre is directed by Zeena Feldman.

The Steering Group advises and supports the Director: Daniel Orrells, Mark Turner, Clara Bradbury-Rance, Johan Andersson, Sebastian Matzner, Billy Holzberg, Anne Pollock, Jamie Hakim, Ros Murray, Tommy Dickinson and Jazmin Ruiz Diaz Figueredo (PGR Representative/ Centre Administrator).