Eros and Empire: The Transnational Struggle for Sexual Freedom in the US

When: Friday, March 14, 2025, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: The Old Library, Garrod Building, Whitechapel

Join us for the inaugural UK book launch of Eros and Empire (Stanford University Press) and hear from author Alexander Stoffel in conversation with Ayça Çubukçu (LSE), Nivi Manchanda (QMUL), and Abeera Khan (SOAS).

This is a hybrid event. To join via Zoom: https://qmul-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/85988892207

The history of queer politics since 1968 is commonly narrated as either a progressive campaign for state recognition or as a subcultural rejection of prevailing gender norms. But these accounts miss the true scale of queer politics in the post-war era. By centering transnational relations, practices, and infrastructures in the history of sexual rebellion, Eros and Empire provides an alternative view of US-based struggles for sexual freedom. In this event, the book’s author and expert panellists will discuss how this new book reconsiders our revolutionary sexual past and creates new opportunities for the study of sexual formations in relation to questions of capital accumulation, empire, and resistance.

Alexander Stoffel is a Lecturer in International Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London.