Troubled by the status quo? We call for a new status queer!

As significant cultural changes in social reality are reflected and reinforced by representations in popular culture (with the law arguably lagging behind), we seek to question the status quo and look for examples of the creation of the new “status queer.”

We also want to update our understanding of what “status queer” is here and now: in contemporary social context, including politics, academia or activism. How is “status queer” being performed, reproduced or challenged in Polish society? Who is involved in this process, and why? How is queerness interconnected with gender/race/citizenship/disability and class within social practices or institutions? How far does the new queer culture go in calling into question the old social and political order? Does it always subvert it, or can it be integrated into old structures of power?

The aim of the conference is to create an opportunity for MA and BA students at the American Studies Center and Institute of Applied Social Sciences to present their research projects and facilitate an exchange of inspiring ideas. In hopes of creating an interdisciplinary, bilingual platform to discuss topics and methods related to Poland and the United States, we invite 10-15 minute-long presentations on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

‣ representation of gender in pop culture
‣ transgender and non-binary identities
‣ political conflicts over sexual minorities
‣ hegemonic and subaltern masculinities
‣ intersections of race and gender/sexuality
‣ intersections of class and gender/sexuality
‣ intersections of dis/ability and gender/sexuality
‣ histories of gender and sexual identities in the US or Poland
‣ the importance of gender/sexuality in the media
‣ non-normative sexualities in culture and society
‣ political struggles over gender equality
‣ history of feminisms and feminist debates today
‣ new methodologies in queer and gender studies
‣ living contemporary feminist & queer lives
‣ doing LGBTQ+ and queer activism in the US or Poland
‣ queering social life and institutions: emancipatory ideas and practices
‣ resisting homo- and transphobia
‣ resisting patriarchy
‣ cruising queer utopias and feminist futures

If you have a final paper that you are particularly proud of or if you are working on a B.A. paper or M.A. thesis that reflects on these topics, feel free to apply to the conference. New research is also welcome. You may present your research in Polish or in English.

The conference will be held on 26-27 April, 2024 at the University of Warsaw. All presenters will be invited to a free lunch during the conference. Conference participation is free of charge. The ASC presenters will be granted a grade of 5 for OZN!

Application deadline: March 1, 2024.
Acceptance notification: March 15, 2024.

Apply through a Google Form you will find here.

Organizing Committee:
Kamila Bagińska, Anna Maria Grzybowska, Mikołaj Szczerba, Miranda Zarzycka, Ludmiła Janion, Anna Kurowicka, Łukasz Mikołajewski, Marta Rawłuszko

 The conference is funded by:

Organizers

News

Competition for Student Research Grants

March 27, 2025

The American Studies Center is pleased to announce a competition for student research grants. The grants will support students’ work on their MA theses and BA papers. As the research must be related to a BA paper or an MA thesis, 3rd year BA students and MA students of all years will have a priority.

News

Dean’s Day on April 30

March 24, 2025

We kindly inform you that, in accordance with Order No. 1 issued by the Head of the Teaching Unit on March 19, 2025, April 30, 2025, has been declared as a dean’s day (a day off from teaching).

News

Meeting with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning

March 21, 2025

On March 26 at 6:30 PM, we invite you to an open online meeting with the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning, Prof. Maciej Raś. During the meeting, we will discuss topics important to students and those interested in studying at the University of Warsaw.

News

ZIP 2.0 Integrated Teaching Development Program for the ASC Undergraduate Program

March 20, 2025

We would like to inform you that as of January 1, 2025, the University of Warsaw is implementing the “Integrated Teaching Development Program – ZIP 2.0,” co-financed by the European Social Fund under the European Funds for Social Development 2021–2027 (FERS) program. Its goal is to adapt the educational offer to the needs of the economy and labor market, as well as to support green and digital transformation.

American Studies Colloquium Series

April 3: Gatekeeping, Paranoid Professionalism, and Redefining Literacy: How US Librarians Fought, Found, and Loved Comic Books

March 20, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the third lecture of the American Studies Colloquium Series in the 2025 Spring semester! In this talk, we will look at how US librarians fought against comic books as though libraries were the last line of defense in a vital war. We will examine the existential threat that librarians perceived comics to pose in the mid-century and the gradual, nervous thawing of that opposition in the 1970s and 1980s.