Seminar WiSe 2022/2023
Dr. Christian Haid, Prof. Dr. Elke Beyer, Prof. Anke Hagemann

City of queer Spaces II

Oral Histories

Watch video here.

In this seminar, we will detect and analyze forgotten, disappeared, and displaced queer spaces in Berlin and elsewhere and explore why many of these places no longer exist, yet significantly resonate in the queer community’s memory.

We will track down, archive, and map these places. We will explore the ways in which queer infrastructures play a role in urban transformation processes and how they can be an essential part of producing a more inclusive and equitable city. Queer life and its spaces are comparatively poorly documented and archived, which is why a significant part of the research will be devoted to opening up new sources (e.g. historical city guides, oral histories, sources from LGBTQI+ institutions).
The outcome of the second part of this seminar will be predominantly audio features of oral histories of queer places that no longer exist. The research of queer places in Berlin will be accompanied by readings and discussions on queer urbanism and the theories of counter-archives. In topic-specific inputs, lectures by guests, in film screenings and via pop-cultural sources, references to contexts beyond Berlin will be made.

The seminar will be held in English however a basic knowledge of German is beneficial in order to conduct the oral histories interviews.

The results of the seminar are embedded in the artistic research project „Nothing that ever was changes“ by POLIGONAL Office for Urban Communication.

Photo: Pansy‘s Drag Race, Hasenheide July 2022. © Christian Haid

Download the Poster here.