UCL Queer Community College Joy, Fun and Care

<p>Terms like queer, heteronormativity, homonationalism, and pinkwashing are widely used, but where do they come from and what do they actually mean? How can these critical concepts help us to make sense of ourselves and the world around us? How might a queer approach shed light on ways that gender and sexuality intersect with class, race, patriarchy, disability and colonialism? For LGBTQ+ history month, take a deep dive into key ideas from queer theory, identities, politics, activism. Classes will comprise discussion, reading, and creative practice. </p>

<p>Terms like queer, heteronormativity, homonationalism, and pinkwashing are widely used, but where do they come from and what do they actually mean? How can these critical concepts help us to make sense of ourselves and the world around us? How might a queer approach shed light on ways that gender and sexuality intersect with class, race, patriarchy, disability and colonialism? For LGBTQ+ history month, take a deep dive into key ideas from queer theory, identities, politics, activism. Classes will comprise discussion, reading, and creative practice. </p>

<p>You don’t need any prior knowledge to participate, just a sense of curiosity and an open mind <br />
<strong>Reading lists and resources will be available each week for those who wish to explore these ideas further.</strong></p>

<p>Queer thinking and activism is so often oriented around and against harm, fear, violence and oppression. This session will consider what it might mean to centre queer joy, fun, and care. What are the politics of this manoeuvre in a world where fun is trivialised and packaged to us in proscribed forms, and individualising notions of self-care can deflect from the erosion of societal welfare? How might we create the conditions for queer joy and meaningfully contribute to communities of care when we’re already so stretched? </p>