What's the Use of Feminist and Queer Theory?: On Messy Methods, Archives, and Objects

Abstract:By thinking with Feminist and Queer Studies, what new languages, objects of study, archives, and methods are enabled for those with other disciplinary trainings? This article uses as a case study a recent workshop that we—two Ph.D.s in Feminist Studies—convened for our colleagues who are affiliated with Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and had expressed their desire to be in conversation with current Feminist and Queer Studies debates. We selected seminar texts based on topics explored in recent special issues of Feminist and Queer Studies journals, including: feminist method, feminist technoscience and new materialisms, affect, and feminist and queer geographies. Following a week-long feminist and queer theory workshop, participants reflect on how our discussions regarding method, archives, and objects of study inform their own intellectual and political concerns and commitments. Ultimately, this article offers insights into the new engagements and vocabularies engendered by feminist and queer theory as it travels across and against varied disciplinary persuasions.