Overview
On Amazon’s vast online bookstore, ‘LGBTQ+ Books’ appears as one of thirty-five major categories, alongside ‘Romance’ and ‘Science Fiction and Fantasy’. It is the only category defined by reference to a social identity. This logic of literary categorisation is nothing new; it underpinned the establishment of early queer bookstores (like the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in New York City and Gay’s the Word in London) and shaped the first anthologies of queer literature, which appeared even earlier. Yet, within queer literary studies, close attention is rarely paid to such acts of categorisation.
To clarify the functions and effects of classifying literary works as queer, this talk suggests approaching ‘queer’ through the lens of genre. It argues that the genre queer can be understood as a structure of cultural memory, shaped simultaneously by formal, social, and economic interests. More than simply offering writers a set of recognisable conventions, or guaranteeing readers the particular pleasure of more of the same, the cultural logic of the genre queer also plays a constitutive role in shaping the meaning and meaningfulness of queer collective identity itself.
Speaker
Aaron Muldoon is a doctoral candidate in the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge. He studies collective memory in contemporary queer literature.
Details
This event is part of the Lunchtime Seminar Series organised by the Wolfson College Senior Members.
It is open to all, free to attend and there is no need to book.
Tea and coffee will be available for the audience.
Access
This event will take place in the Combination Room on the first floor of our main building. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located on the first floor of the building.
Lunchtime Seminar Series
The Lunchtime Seminar Series provide an opportunity for students, Fellows and Senior Members to share their expertise in a friendly and supportive environment over lunch.
The seminars are held in the Combination Room from 13.00 for an hour on most Wednesdays during full term. The audience is encouraged to bring their lunch in on a tray and take part in the discussion.
Most people who attend are non-specialists, so the talk has to be aimed at a general audience and speakers are warned to avoid technical jargon. We very much encourage students to offer a paper and use this as an opportunity to try out their thesis ideas on listeners who come from all different academic disciplines.
