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 gathered to name on-the-ground urgencies and to push back against persistent binaries, from urban/rural to men/women, that shape how rural life is conceptualized, counted, and governed. Together we asked who gets to tell which stories, through which mediums, and where; what it means to bridge scholarly and practical knowledge, or to sit honestly in the gap where no bridge exists; and how queer researchers and practitioners navigate vulnerability in rural places. Conversations moved through the regional specificities of 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 research 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!