Reading Club

How can marginalized individuals emancipate themselves from dominant cultural norms and identities? The Cuban American theorist José Esteban Muñoz negotiated this question in his book Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics (1999), putting forward his concept of "disidentification". In 2023, the introduction to his text, which became seminal for the field of queer studies, was published in German for the first time.

On 17 July, we invite you to join our reading club to discuss his theory together in connection with our current exhibition by Lila-Zoé Krauß. The multimedia work [After her Destrucition] tells the story of Girl and her search for sources of identification outside of restrictive norms. Embarking on a journey through her own mind with the aid of the computer programme The Art of Mind, she finds answers in her own imagination and in the "performances" of the queers she encounters there.

After a visit to the exhibition and a short guided tour, you will exchange your thoughts about the reading and exhibition. Participation is free, snacks and drinks will be waiting for you! Upon request, we can provide you with the text excerpt that will be discussed (ca. 20 pages) after your registration. The reading club takes place in cooperation with Drifting through the Archipelago – one of the student-run book clubs of the ArchipelagoLab, which is based at the Institute of Philosophy and Art History at the Leuphana University.