[Commlist] CFP - Interwar Cinema and Queer History: Researching the LGBTQ+ Past Symposium

*Call for Papers*

*Interwar Cinema and Queer History:*

*Researching the LGBTQ+ Past Symposium*

University of Southampton

23 June 2026

A one-day symposium will be held at the University of Southampton on 
Tuesday, 23 June 2026. This event will bring together scholars working 
on British (and transnational) interwar cinema and queer history to 
network, explore research interests, and identify key themes and gaps in 
scholarship, as well as to discuss the archival sources and challenges 
involved in researching the LGBTQ+ past.

The 1910s-1930s have been studied as a crucial time both for the 
development of cinema as a mass medium and for the formation of modern 
queer identities and subjectivities. While the 
links between film and queer modes of gender and sexuality during this 
period have been explored in some national contexts – 
including cinematic responses to the ‘pansy craze’ or lesbian 
visibility in the United States, or early queer and trans 
representations in Weimar-era German cinema  – less is known about the 
place of film in queer interwar history in the UK. Although films 
and those working behind the camera were often highly mobile during 
these decades, less is also known about the role of films and film 
culture in mediating queer images and experiences across national borders.

This symposium invites proposals for 20-minute papers from anyone 
interested in exploring connections between interwar cinema and queer 
and trans histories in the UK and beyond. Topics can include but are by 
no means limited to:

 *

   Queer/trans representations in interwar films – characters,
   narratives, spaces

 *

   The work of LGBTQ+ people in front of or behind the camera

 *

   Queer perspectives on film magazines, ephemera, film
   journalism and other promotion and reception practices

 *

   Queer stars, celebrities, fans and audiences

 *

   Policing queerness in cinema and media – censorship,
   scandals, intimidation and resistance

 *

   Intersections of sexuality, gender, class and race

 *

   Films as primary sources for queer and trans history

 *

   Sharing approaches from feminist, trans and queer historiography

 *
   Queer currents across interwar cinema, arts and entertainment –
   film, theatre, music, radio, literature, visual arts
 *
   Camp and performance
 *
   Film and queer/trans networks – local, national, international,
   imperial, colonial
 *
   Transnational journeys – queer figures/images that cross national
   borders
 *
   Neglected or forgotten figures and histories
 *
   Archives and collections – researching interwar film and queer history

Please send abstracts of 200-300 words along with a short biography by 
*Monday 20 April 2026* to Prof. Michael Williams at the University of 
Southampton and/or Dr. Chris O’Rourke at the University of Warwick.

(M.T.Williams /at/ soton.ac.uk)

(Chris.O-Rourke /at/ warwick.ac.uk)

Applicants will be informed on or before 6 May 2026.

This symposium is open to academics and researchers who are interested 
in the subject and will be in person only. Registration will be free, 
and lunch and tea/coffee will be provided.


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