In one of its older meanings, the word queer is a pejorative term for non-heterosexual persons (see Motschenbacher 2012: 87). In the course of struggles for recognition, the word has now become a frequently used self-designation, and it refers not only to sexuality, but also to the notion of gender identity in general (see Dietze, Yekani & Michaelis 2012: 3). Queerness as a concept both negotiated and contested in discourse does not refer to essential, fixed characteristics, but is continually constructed through language use in social and cultural contextualization, among other things. Examples are discourses on bi- erasure (see Stewart 2021) and Kink on Pride (see Abad-Santos. 2021). In this way, social power structures become visible. Queerness is often controversial in social and political discourses because queerness is understood as contradicting social norms. Marginalization associated with this can be intensified when several mechanisms of oppression interact intersectionally (see Junker & Roth 2018).

The concept of queerness and the associated use of the word queer are negotiated not least in the context of hegemonic discourses on heteronormativity, where questions of identification are raised, for example, regarding cis- and heterosexuality, non-binarity and trans. Discourse positions are sometimes fiercely contested and also evoke anti-queer attitudes and actions.

The online student conference addresses various spaces of discourse in (social) media and the offline world and discusses the social negotiation of queer and queerness. In this context, we also want to consider the form and effectiveness of anti-queer discourses, for example in hate speech or other forms of exclusion (see Scharloth 2017).

The ThemaTalkers are an open academic space of shared interest; we do not set topics. The following questions can be used for further thematic orientation, but they are not binding:

• How are queer identity constructs linguistically constructed? (see Motschenbacher 2011: 161)
• Who speaks in the social negotiation around queerness?
• How are queer and anti-queer positions negotiated in discursive spaces?
• Which discursive patterns and systematics of inclusion and exclusion can be identified in the construction of queerness?
• Which (linguistic) strategies and discursive mechanisms can be observed in public discourses on anti/queerness?
• How do media representations (e.g. in films, series, advertising, social media) change the perception and definition of queerness?
• How are social stereotypes around queerness and heteronormativity reproduced or challenged in current (media) discourses?
• Which linguistic means do queer communities use for self-empowerment?
• How can intersectionality and multiple marginalizations be researched in a profound and in-depth way?

The student conference is organized by the inter-university working group of the Thema- Talkers (U Bremen, Åbo Akademi and U Vienna) in cooperation with the U Bremen collaborative research platform Worlds of Contradiction (WOC) and the European Research Network on Discourses of Marginality and Demarginalization (DeMarg).

ThemaTalkers welcome applications from advanced undergraduate and graduate students and doctoral candidates in, among others, linguistics and other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, who would like to contribute to our hybrid conference with reference to the thematic priorities and questions mentioned above. Our conference lan- guages are German and English. We ask that you indicate the desired length of the presentation (either 15 or 30 minutes) when submitting your proposal, and that you also state the planned format of your presentation. In addition to traditional papers, essay-like contributions, academically informed field reports, short films or other forms of presentations are also conceivable, as long as they meet the usual standards of academic practice.

Applications should be submitted in the form of an abstract including name, details of university affiliation, title, duration, and format of the contribution, as well as a short text (approx. 200 words) and can be sent to themtalk@uni-bremen.de by 15 April 2025. Feedback will be provided by the beginning of May. Further information on ThemaTalkers and previous events can be found at: www.uni-bremen.de/thematalkers.

The ThemaTalkers

Hanna Acke | Emre Almaci | Anna Brandewiede | Marlene Haslinger-Fenzl | Jan Hensellek | Lara Herford | Linda Karpinski-Kröll | Annika Ravenschlag | Angelina Schellin | Susanne So- phie Schmalwieser | Dorothea Sichrovsky | Ingo H. Warnke

Hosts

Dr. Hanna Acke, Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Languages, Åbo Akademi
Lara Herford, Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft/Interdisziplinäre Linguistik, U Bremen
Prof. Dr. Ingo H. Warnke, Deutsche Sprachwissenschaft/Interdisziplinäre Linguistik, U Bremen

Programm

Freitag, 27. Juni 2025
Public Viewing
U Bremen | GW2 A 3.570

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Ingo H. Warnke

09.00–09.15 Uhr            Begrüßung der ThemaTalkers

09.15–09.30 Uhr            Grußworte

Moderation: Dr. Hanna Acke

09.30–10.30 Uhr            Keynote I

Martin Stegu (Wien)

Wege zu einer »Angewandten Queeren Linguistik«? Autobiographische und grundsätzliche Anmerkungen.

10.30–10.45 Uhr            Pause

Panel 1                              Places of Negotiating Queer

Moderation: Annika Ravenschlag & Dorothea Sichrovsky

10.45–11.20 Uhr            Samira Ochs & Jan Oliver Rüdiger (Mannheim)

Worüber reden wir, wenn wir von queer reden? Ein korpusbasierter Vergleich von queeren und nicht-queeren Medien

11.20–11.55 Uhr                           Linda Karpinski-Kröll (Bremen)

Queerness im Bilderbuch – Zwischen Sichtbarkeit, Subversion und normativen Rahmungen

11.55–12.30 Uhr                           Sarah Ganss (Jena)

Queer(ed) Discourses – bell hooks and education

12.30–13.05 Uhr            Clara Müllenmeister (Bremen)

Das referenzielle Genus (a.k.a. Pronomen) – Eine Zweifelsfallanalyse

13.05–14.05 Uhr            Mittagspause

Panel 2               Practices in the Queer Space

Moderation: Emre Almaci & Jan Hensellek

14.05–14.40 Uhr            Jannis Gatidis (Karlsruhe)

Diskussion über Rechte von TIN*-Personen – Eine Analyse der Argumentation von Wissenschaft, Politik und TIN*-Personen in zwei deutschen Zeitungen

14.40–15.15 Uhr            Angelina Schellin (Bremen)

Sex, Macht und Moral – Semantische Kämpfe im Diskurs um Prostitution

15.15–15.50 Uhr            Olivia Maegaard Nielsen & Jonas Trochemowitz (Bremen)

Zwischen Shitstorm und Woke-Bashing – Zur ethischen Begründbarkeit von Sprachkritik in Diskussionen über queer-exklusive Sprache

15.50–16.25 Uhr            Sara Peine (Paderborn)

Schreiben, um nicht zu Schweigen – Subversive Sprachstrategien in Kim de l’Horizons Blutbuch

16.25–16.55 Uhr            Pause

Roundtable                      Queer Talken

16.55–18.00 Uhr            Moderation: Linda Karpinski-Kröll

Samstag, 28. Juni 2025
Public Viewing
U Bremen | GW2 A 3.570

Moderation: Lara Herford

09.00–10.00 Uhr            Keynote II

Jonas Hassemer (Wien)

Queerfeldein: Orientierungen in der wissenschaftlichen Sozialisierung und der Forschungspraxis

Panel 3                              Representation of Queer

Moderation: Marlene Haslinger-Fenzl & Angelina Schellin

10.00–10.35 Uhr            Hanna Dopler (Wien)

»I speak to you through the things that speak to me« Collagen als kreative Methode zur Darstellung und Verhandlung queerer Identitätspositionen – Worüber reden wir, wenn wir von queer reden? Ein korpusbasierter Vergleich von queeren und nicht-queeren Medien

10.35–10.50 Uhr            Pause

10.50–11.25 Uhr            Sara Leitner (Wien)

Queering the Label? Zur sprachlichen Repräsentation von Queerness im musealen Kunstausstellungskontext

11.25–12.00 Uhr            Laura Maria Meine (Lüneburg)

Framing Queerness – Sexualizing Children?

12.00–12.35 Uhr            Mara Wassermeier (Berlin)

Sehr hot, aber vielleicht krank? Repräsentation von Asexualität in deutschen Zeitungsartikeln von 2001 bis 2013

12.35–13.10 Uhr            Daniel Schmidt (Bremen)

Dirty f***ing f*g – Queere Geschichtsschreibung im Lichte der AIDS-Pandemie

13.10–14.10 Uhr            Mittagspause

Panel 4               Narrartives of Queer

Moderation: Anna Brandewiede & Susanne Schmalwieser

14.10–14.45 Uhr            Mayra Jenzer Azevedo (Wien)

Bastardized Vampirism – Methoden der queeren Monstrosität und vampirischen Trans*gressionen

14.45–15.20 Uhr            Miriam Fiala (Wien)

Creating Queer Counter-Spaces – Subverting Normative Gaming Cultures in Reader-Insert Femslash Fanfiction

15.20–15.35 Uhr            Pause

15.35–16.10 Uhr            Alina Matt & Lea Koch (Wien)

Zwischen Widerstand und Repression – Die Rolle sozialer Medien für queeren Aktivismus in Ghana

16.10–16.45 Uhr            Paula Koch (Lüneburg)

Queere Selbstrepräsentation in Kim de l’Horizons Blutbuch

16.45–17.00 Uhr            Closing Statement der ThemaTalkers