Lunchtime Talk: Edward Carpenter's Queer Language

Christopher Isherwood discovered his people in Weimar Berlin, at an institute for sexology, underneath a portrait of Edward Carpenter. It was no coincidence.  

In the early 20th century, the German language coined words such as “homosexuality”, collated famous and diverse cases of LGBT+ history in anthologies, and set up publication houses and campaign groups for queer rights. These all found their way to England, to Sheffield specifically, to writers such as Edward Carpenter. One of our city’s most famous authors and activists, Carpenter would shape this seminal era for sexualities around 1900, here and also over in Germany – even writing in German.

Join Dr Seán Williams to explore Carpenter’s queer language in this insightful lunchtime talk.

Dr Seán Williams presented the BBC Radio 3 series Death in Trieste and the documentary Edward Carpenter brings German Sexology to Sheffield. He teaches German Studies at the University of Sheffield.