Negotiating Safety. Literary and Cinematic Stagings of Queer Spaces Since 1900 (Vienna, Austria)

Negotiating Safety: Literary and Cinematic Stagings of Queer Spaces Since 1900

Event Overview

The conference "Negotiating Safety. Literary and Cinematic Stagings of Queer Spaces Since 1900" explores how literature and film have portrayed queer experiences through physical, emotional, and symbolic spaces over the past century. It will take place in Vienna, Austria.

Themes and Focus

Participants will examine how queer individuals and communities have represented safety, risk, and visibility in cultural works since 1900. The event invites discussion on:

The transformation of queer spaces across different historical milestones.
Narratives of protection, self-expression, and vulnerability in art and cinema.
Intersections between gender, politics, and geography within queer cultural production.

Goals of the Conference

The conference seeks to identify how writers and filmmakers have negotiated the boundaries between safety and danger while capturing queer lives. It also aims to highlight the evolving aesthetics of queer storytelling and the social roles such narratives play in shaping public understanding.

Key Questions

How do literary and cinematic texts construct safe or unsafe queer spaces?
In what ways do historical, cultural, and political settings influence these representations?

Dates and Location

The conference will be hosted in Vienna, gathering scholars, critics, and artists engaged in queer studies, gender theory, and cultural history.

Author summary:
The Vienna conference explores how literature and cinema from 1900 onward have depicted queer spaces as zones of both danger and refuge, redefining visibility and safety in cultural history.

Fabula, la recherche en littérature — 2025-11-26