Lecture by Katrin Köppert - „S is for Shame which is a very important queer feeling.“*
SHAME
*Ann Cvetkovich & Karin Michalski: The Alphabet of Feeling Bad
In the alphabet of bad feelings, the letter S stands for shame. But that’s not all: shame is an important queer feeling, says Ann Cvetkovich. But why should we read shame together with queerness? What does queer even mean in this context? The shameful moment of coming out? The painful history of shaming people who desire the same sex or do not live a gender-conforming life? Or does queer stand for a political shift in discourse: away from the capitalistically exploitable requirements of being happy and future-oriented towards a politics of vulnerability? But how should such a policy differ from the various techniques used to instrumentalize fear, anger or even shame? What role do the ungovernability of affect, the unconsciousness of gesture and humor play in a queer politics of shame? The lecture would like to develop some approaches along these questions, but certainly not provide any answers.