Professor Philip Schofield hosts Social Scientist Dr Jonathan Galton, to explore his research into the perceived political tension on the progressive left between queerness and Islam. Discussing the historical and cultural context surrounding queerness and Islam, they find surprising affinities between Bentham’s writing on freedom of religion and sexual liberty, and the contemporary theological work reinterpreting Quranic verses on homosexuality today.

Dr Jonathan Galton is a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Sciences at the Thomas Coram Research Unit in the UCL Social Research Institute. The research discussed in this episode was funded through a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship.

Host: Professor Philip Schofield (Director of the Bentham Project, UCL)

Guest: Dr Jonathan Galton (IOE - Social Research Institute, UCL)

Commissioners: Professor David Docherty OBE & Dr Paul Ayris (Pro-Vice-Provost LCCOS: Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, UCL)

Director: Justin Hardy (IOE - Culture, Communication & Media, UCL)

Producer: Stevie Doran

Date: 21 October 2024

Duration: 26:35