What does it mean to use queer theory or to queer research and what are some examples of this? This breakfast seminar brings together researchers from disciplines within political science, conflict research, and history to discuss their use of queer theory and queer research practices.
The event will include a keynote speaker and panel discussion followed by a Q&A. Queer theory is broad and spans several disciplines, this event acts as an introduction to some approaches to doing queer research.
Keynote speaker
https://www.stk.uio.no/english/people/aca/sunnivse/ Sunniva Árja Tobiasen, Lecturer, Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo
Sunniva Árja Tobiasen has a Master in Gender Studies and did their thesis on Compulsory Sexuality and Asexuality. Since completing their degree, they have worked at the Centre for Gender Research at the University of Oslo. They have lectured on gender theory and research, sexuality theory and research, and also gender equality in Nordic countries. They have an interdisciplinary background, and their knowledge of and experience with queer theory and queer research comes from their own work as well as lecturing.
Speakers
Elin Berg, Doctoral Student, Swedish Defense University
Elin Berg is in her second year of the PhD program in War Studies at the Swedish Defense University, where she is part of the Gender, Peace & Security research team. In her research, she explores formal and informal gender integration mechanisms and strategies in the Swedish Armed Forces, including the protection of LGBTQI+ rights. Drawing from queer theory and feminist scholarship on state armed forces, she analyzes which implications this work (and the strategic communication around it) has on gender relations and norms in the organization today.
Davide Bertelli, Doctoral Student, VID Specialized University
Davide Bertelli is a third-year PhD candidate in Theology and Religious Studies at VID Specialized University. After completing his Master’s degree in 2019 he worked as a research assistant at PRIO on several migration-related projects. In his ongoing PhD project, he is studying how queer migrants reflect on their own lived experiences of religion while drawing from elements of Sara Ahmed’s Queer Phenomenology (2006), as well as queer theory and Smith’s 1978 theory of migration as theologizing experience. His aim is to demonstrate how migration, sexuality, and spirituality are entangled in processes of self-reflection, negotiation, and self-acceptance: these processes often lead to the development of personal theologies, which are fluid and open to questioning and (re)negotiating.
Niels Nyegaard, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo
Niels Nyegaard is a Danish historian whose research interests include the intersections between sexuality, gender, and citizenship in the Nordic countries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Nyegaard’s current research project explores the history and politics of the male homosexual closet in the early Danish welfare state, c. 1900-1950. Among his recent publications is the book Den store homo-skandale, published at Aarhus Universitetsforlaget in 2021.
The seminar will be moderated by**Johanne Rokke Elvebakken.** PRIO Deputy Director Torunn L. Tryggestad will offer opening remarks.
This event is funded by the Diversity Initiative at PRIO as well as the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security.
