In one of its older meanings, the word queer is a pejorative term for non-heterosexual persons (see Motschenbacher 2012: 87). In the course of struggles for recognition, the word has now become a frequently used self-designation, and it refers not only to sexuality, but also to the notion of gender identity in general (see Dietze, Yekani & Michaelis 2012: 3). Queerness as a concept both negotiated and contested in discourse does not refer to essential, fixed characteristics, but is continually constructed through language use in social and cultural contextualization, among other things. Examples are discourses on bi- erasure (see Stewart 2021) and Kink on Pride (see Abad-Santos. 2021). In this way, social power structures become visible. Queerness is often controversial in social and political discourses because queerness is understood as contradicting social norms. Marginalization associated with this can be intensified when several mechanisms of oppression interact intersectionally (see Junker & Roth 2018).
The concept of queerness and the associated use of the word queer are negotiated not least in the context of hegemonic discourses on heteronormativity, where questions of identification are raised, for example, regarding cis- and heterosexuality, non-binarity and trans. Discourse positions are sometimes fiercely contested and also evoke anti-queer attitudes and actions.
The online student conference addresses various spaces of discourse in (social) media and the offline world and discusses the social negotiation of queer and queerness. In this context, we also want to consider the form and effectiveness of anti-queer discourses, for example in hate speech or other forms of exclusion (see Scharloth 2017).
The ThemaTalkers are an open academic space of shared interest; we do not set topics. The following questions can be used for further thematic orientation, but they are not binding:
- How are queer identity constructs linguistically constructed? (see Motschenbacher 2011: 161)
- Who speaks in the social negotiation around queerness?
- How are queer and anti-queer positions negotiated in discursive spaces?
- Which discursive patterns and systematics of inclusion and exclusion can be identified in the construction of queerness?
- Which (linguistic) strategies and discursive mechanisms can be observed in public discourses on anti/queerness?
- How do media representations (e.g. in films, series, advertising, social media) change the perception and definition of queerness?
- How are social stereotypes around queerness and heteronormativity reproduced or challenged in current (media) discourses?
- Which linguistic means do queer communities use for self-empowerment?
- How can intersectionality and multiple marginalizations be researched in a profound and in-depth way?
The student conference is organized by the inter-university working group of the Thema- Talkers (U Bremen, Åbo Akademi and U Vienna) in cooperation with the U Bremen collaborative research platform Worlds of Contradiction (WOC) and the European Research Network on Discourses of Marginality and Demarginalization (DeMarg).
ThemaTalkers welcome applications from advanced undergraduate and graduate students and doctoral candidates in, among others, linguistics and other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, who would like to contribute to our hybrid conference with reference to the thematic priorities and questions mentioned above. Our conference lan- guages are German and English. We ask that you indicate the desired length of the presentation (either 15 or 30 minutes) when submitting your proposal, and that you also state the planned format of your presentation. In addition to traditional papers, essay-like contributions, academically informed field reports, short films or other forms of presentations are also conceivable, as long as they meet the usual standards of academic practice.
Applications should be submitted in the form of an abstract including name, details of university affiliation, title, duration, and format of the contribution, as well as a short text (approx. 200 words) and can be sent to themtalk@uni-bremen.de by 15 April 2025. Feedback will be provided by the beginning of May. Further information on ThemaTalkers and previous events can be found at: www.uni-bremen.de/thematalkers.
The ThemaTalkers
Hanna Acke | Emre Almaci | Anna Brandewiede | Marlene Haslinger-Fenzl | Jan Hensellek | Lara Herford | Linda Karpinski-Kröll | Annika Ravenschlag | Angelina Schellin | Susanne So- phie Schmalwieser | Dorothea Sichrovsky | Ingo H. Warnke
Hosts
Dr. Hanna Acke, Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Languages, Åbo Akademi
Lara Herford, Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft/Interdisziplinäre Linguistik, U Bremen
Prof. Dr. Ingo H. Warnke, Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft/Interdisziplinäre Linguistik, U Bremen
Programm
Freitag, 27. Juni 2025
Public Viewing
U Bremen | GW2 A 3.570
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Ingo H. Warnke
09.00–09.15 Uhr Begrüßung der ThemaTalkers
09.15–09.30 Uhr Grußworte
Moderation: Dr. Hanna Acke
09.30–10.30 Uhr Keynote I
Martin Stegu (Wien)
Wege zu einer »Angewandten Queeren Linguistik«? Autobiographische und grundsätzliche Anmerkungen.
10.30–10.45 Uhr Pause
Panel 1 Places of Negotiating Queer
Moderation: Annika Ravenschlag & Dorothea Sichrovsky
10.45–11.20 Uhr Samira Ochs & Jan Oliver Rüdiger (Mannheim)
Worüber reden wir, wenn wir von queer reden? Ein korpusbasierter Vergleich von queeren und nicht-queeren Medien
11.20–11.55 Uhr Linda Karpinski-Kröll (Bremen)
Queerness im Bilderbuch – Zwischen Sichtbarkeit, Subversion und normativen Rahmungen
11.55–12.30 Uhr Sarah Ganss (Jena)
Queer(ed) Discourses – bell hooks and education
12.30–13.05 Uhr Clara Müllenmeister (Bremen)
Das referenzielle Genus (a.k.a. Pronomen) – Eine Zweifelsfallanalyse
13.05–14.05 Uhr Mittagspause
Panel 2 Practices in the Queer Space
Moderation: Emre Almaci & Jan Hensellek
14.05–14.40 Uhr Jannis Gatidis (Karlsruhe)
Diskussion über Rechte von TIN*-Personen – Eine Analyse der Argumentation von Wissenschaft, Politik und TIN*-Personen in zwei deutschen Zeitungen
14.40–15.15 Uhr Angelina Schellin (Bremen)
Sex, Macht und Moral – Semantische Kämpfe im Diskurs um Prostitution
15.15–15.50 Uhr Olivia Maegaard Nielsen & Jonas Trochemowitz (Bremen)
Zwischen Shitstorm und Woke-Bashing – Zur ethischen Begründbarkeit von Sprachkritik in Diskussionen über queer-exklusive Sprache
15.50–16.25 Uhr Sara Peine (Paderborn)
Schreiben, um nicht zu Schweigen – Subversive Sprachstrategien in Kim de l’Horizons Blutbuch
16.25–16.55 Uhr Pause
Roundtable Queer Talken
16.55–18.00 Uhr Moderation: Linda Karpinski-Kröll
Samstag, 28. Juni 2025
Public Viewing
U Bremen | GW2 A 3.570
Moderation: Lara Herford
09.00–10.00 Uhr Keynote II
Jonas Hassemer (Wien)
Queerfeldein: Orientierungen in der wissenschaftlichen Sozialisierung und der Forschungspraxis
Panel 3 Representation of Queer
Moderation: Marlene Haslinger-Fenzl & Angelina Schellin
10.00–10.35 Uhr Hanna Dopler (Wien)
»I speak to you through the things that speak to me« Collagen als kreative Methode zur Darstellung und Verhandlung queerer Identitätspositionen – Worüber reden wir, wenn wir von queer reden? Ein korpusbasierter Vergleich von queeren und nicht-queeren Medien
10.35–10.50 Uhr Pause
10.50–11.25 Uhr Sara Leitner (Wien)
Queering the Label? Zur sprachlichen Repräsentation von Queerness im musealen Kunstausstellungskontext
11.25–12.00 Uhr Laura Maria Meine (Lüneburg)
Framing Queerness – Sexualizing Children?
12.00–12.35 Uhr Mara Wassermeier (Berlin)
Sehr hot, aber vielleicht krank? Repräsentation von Asexualität in deutschen Zeitungsartikeln von 2001 bis 2013
12.35–13.10 Uhr Daniel Schmidt (Bremen)
Dirty f***ing f*g – Queere Geschichtsschreibung im Lichte der AIDS-Pandemie
13.10–14.10 Uhr Mittagspause
Panel 4 Narrartives of Queer
Moderation: Anna Brandewiede & Susanne Schmalwieser
14.10–14.45 Uhr Mayra Jenzer Azevedo (Wien)
Bastardized Vampirism – Methoden der queeren Monstrosität und vampirischen Trans*gressionen
14.45–15.20 Uhr Miriam Fiala (Wien)
Creating Queer Counter-Spaces – Subverting Normative Gaming Cultures in Reader-Insert Femslash Fanfiction
15.20–15.35 Uhr Pause
15.35–16.10 Uhr Alina Matt & Lea Koch (Wien)
Zwischen Widerstand und Repression – Die Rolle sozialer Medien für queeren Aktivismus in Ghana
16.10–16.45 Uhr Paula Koch (Lüneburg)
Queere Selbstrepräsentation in Kim de l’Horizons Blutbuch
16.45–17.00 Uhr Closing Statement der ThemaTalkers