Queer Histories of Berlin 2023

This class will explore a queer history of Berlin in the twentieth century. We will look at ways in which lesbians, gay men, trans people and others lived, gathered, and challenged and re-shaped norms around sexuality and gender – as well as how understandings of different identities have changed over time. This is a global history understood through the local: we will think about how the unique culture of Berlin has been shaped by migrants, travellers, and transnational intellectual and activist exchange.

Through research with both primary and secondary sources, participants will work together to develop an annotated map to tell historical stories connected to particular places.