The project brings together a collective of PhD students researching queerness and gender who first met during the 4EU+ mini-grant workshop “Representing Same-Sex Desire: Local contexts, global circulations.” Building on that collaboration, the initiative aims to establish an international student working group on queer theory that promotes horizontal, research-driven learning and explores European perspectives beyond the predominantly US-centric queer studies canon. A central goal is to develop a syllabus and pedagogical methods for a queer theory seminar to be offered as a hybrid 4EU+ course for BA and MA students in spring 2026. The group will meet monthly online and gather for a three-day in-person meeting in Prague, with the grant supporting travel, accommodation, and organizational work.

The project aims to create a shared syllabus and teaching methodology for a joint queer theory course integrating European scholarly traditions and LGBTQI+ lived experiences, to build a transnational network of early-career queer and gender researchers, and to experiment with peer-led, horizontal learning models across 4EU+ institutions.

Activities include online meetings focused on research and syllabus development, followed by a three-day meeting in Prague to finalize the syllabus. Additional online meetings will develop the course’s pedagogical methods.

The expected output is a complete syllabus and pedagogical framework for a new 4EU+ queer theory course to be taught in the spring semester of 2026.