Representing Queer Time, Engaging Queer Theory - SCMS March 21-25, 2012
A central concern of contemporary queer theory is the question of time. Recent trends in queer critique have focused on issues of temporality in a range of arguments, from Lee Edelman's (2004) anti-social thesis on reproductive futurity to Elizabeth Freeman's (2010) work on erotohistoriography as a counter to chrononormativity. As J. Halberstam points out, the concept of queer time provides a valuable framework for assessing political and cultural change (2005; 4). For example, the focus on temporality has produced significant alternative genealogies, bringing into focus queer subjects otherwise occluded from heteronormative histories (Haberstam 2005; Roderick Ferguson 2004).