Queer Ruralities Workshop

The second in our series of interdisciplinary, international Queer Ruralities workshops took place online on 16 October 2026, hosted by TU Dortmund University and co-organized by Clara Bader (independent researcher), Dr. Holly Patch (TU Dortmund University), and Prisca Pfammatter (University of Bern). Scholars, artists, and practitioners from Belgium, Germany, India, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland came together to name urgent on-the-ground concerns and challenge the binaries, from urban/rural to men/women, that shape how rural life is understood, measured, and governed. We asked who tells which stories, through what mediums, and where; how to bridge scholarly and practical knowledge (or sit honestly in the gap); and how queer researchers navigate vulnerability in rural places. Discussions spanned queer livelihoods across rural, semi-urban, urban, and transitory spaces; queer ecology and the politics of who gets to be close to nature; and artistic, embodied, more-than-human methodologies. The day was engaging and fun, with interactive sessions that encouraged lively exchange and served as a springboard for future collaboration.

The first workshop, hosted by Dr. Christina Kenny (University of New England, Australia), was held in Sydney in August 2026 and brought together perspectives from across Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Across both events, we aim to advance the scientific discussion of queer(ing) ruralities. Research and policy on gender equality in agrifood systems have too often equated it with women’s programming, centering cis-heterosexual womanhood, while a queer lens reveals the heteronormative order that shapes rural livelihoods, from farmland inheritance to the imaginary of the “good” and future farmer. This nascent field has focused largely on the USA and Central Europe, yet scholars and community advocates across the Global South are now claiming space for new voices and for locally grounded experience and critique.

Our working group will next travel to the International Colloquium of Agroecology and Feminisms (CIFA), “Confronting violence with feminisms, agroecology, and food sovereignty,” taking place in person in Brussels, Belgium, from 2 to 4 December 2026. There we will share insights from our workshop series and co-facilitate the session on LGBTQI+ communities and non-binary identities in agroecology. If you would like to join our network, we would love to hear from you, so please get in touch!