On Wednesday and Thursday 22 and 23 November 2023, take part in the conference on queer life in the Grande Région, an overview of the queer history of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Located at the heart of Europe, the Grande Région is an area of international cooperation with a population of 11.7 million. The queer history of the Greater Region is plural. Each of the territories that make it up has had its own specific characteristics, due to differences in legal and social contexts. In particular, two historical models can be identified. On the one hand, there was a "German model" in which malehomosexuality was punished as such, which led to the early organisation of queer people. On the other hand, there was a 'French model' marked by legal 'tolerance' ofhomosexuality and a long history of queer individualism. There were also local differences within these two cultural areas. The same was true for women, who were hindered in many ways in their lesbian lives.

Behind this diversity, however, lies a history that is common to all queer people in the Greater Region, as the different territories have never been compartmentalised from one another. Numerous transnational or transregional exchanges have developed as a result of the gap between state and cultural borders, the shifting of state borders up until the middle of the 20th century and themobility of populations. As an interface, the Greater Region is therefore an ideal place to study the diversity of state and social treatments of queer identities and practices across time and space, but also to analyse the relationships between these different treatments across borders and the effects of these treatments on the lives of queer people in a cross-border context.

This conference aims to analyse and raise awareness of the connections between these different histories. It is being organised on the initiative of the association "La Grande Région sous l'arc-en-ciel" (The Greater Region under the Rainbow) under the patronage of the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate, which currently holds the presidency of the Greater Region. The organising committee hopes that it will lead to a presentation of the state of research into queer history and sociology in the various territories that make up the Greater Region, and to a highlighting of research desiderata. In addition, the conference should help to create or strengthen an international network of researchers in queer history and sociology.

In terms of content, the organising committee would particularly like to highlight regional or national specificities, common points and cross-border relations in the following areas:
- Legislative frameworks and law enforcement practices
- Social discrimination
- Queer and anti-queer activism
- Queer cultures and practices
- Representations of queer people ("Selbstbilder"/"Fremdbilder")
- Everyday life of queer people
- Use of borders by repressive actors and queer people
- Sources of queer history and sociology
- Scientific and memorial projects
- Invisibilisation of queer lives

More information and registration

Published on 13 November 2023