PSI Lecture: “Creating Queer Eutopia: Community-Building through LGBTQ Activism in Poland” with Sofia Bachman

In her dissertation, Sofia Bachman argues that queer eutopia with an ‘E’ exists in the Polish LGBTQ community through instances of creative activism. Examining theories on queerness and utopia from 5 major scholars, her research contends that at least 5 traits make up the inherently limitless concept of queer eutopia: failure, fluidity, community, public intimacy, and subversion. By looking at how Polish LGBTQ artists reflect and expand upon these traits in their works, one may see both the high amount of breadth and diversity demonstrated within the Polish LGBTQ network of creative existence, and also how this network has created and is creating queer eutopia. Bachman contends that Polish creative activism at times expands upon the 5 traits and shows unique perspectives through which we may think about the meanings of the 5 traits. In Chapter 3, the subject of this talk, Bachman analyzes case studies in which artist-activists use community-building as a tool which creates queer eutopia.   
 

Sofia Bachman is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures. She conducted her dissertation research in Poland with the Fulbright Program, during which she examined LGBTQ+ and feminist art and performance as forms of creative activism. Her dissertation focuses on contemporary works by queer Polish artists and performers who use their creativity to oppose government rhetoric which seeks to curtail human rights. The artists and performers whom she witnessed in action strove to increase visibility of the larger LGBTQ+ community and feminist issues obfuscated by hard-right rhetoric as they engaged with a variety of creative modes of resistance. Sofia’s research builds upon previous projects that focused on creative performance as activism through social media.