“Queer Budapest: Sex, Society and the Illiberal State, Past and Present” with Anita Kurimay, Associate Professor of History, Bryn Mawr College

Description: The presentation discusses the strange and enduring alliance between queer life and a series of illiberal Hungarian regimes throughout the first half of the 20th century, which had been silenced by subsequent political regimes. It details how the legacy of deliberate silencing and erasure of non-normative sexualities from historical records helps to explain more recent emergence of anti-LGBTQ politics in Hungary.

Bio: Anita Kurimay is Associate Professor of History at Bryn Mawr College (USA). Her main research interests include the history of sexuality, women’s and gender history, conservativism and the politics of the far right, the history of human rights, and the history of sport. Her book Queer Budapest, 1873 -1961 (Chicago University Press, 2020) examines the history of Hungarian politics of non-normative sexualities from the late 19th century to the present. She has published articles on Hungarian gay and lesbian history in Sexualities and Eastern European Politics and Societies (EEPS).