Masterclass with Dr. Adriana Qubaiova
How to study sexuality in West Asia (Middle East)?
September 11, 2026, 13:30 – 17:00 hrs
Utrecht University
Sexuality studies in the field of Middle East Area Studies face an irreconcilable tension today: how can scholars employ a European modern category of analysis such as sexuality, accompanied by Western-originating theories such as Queer Theory to conceptualize the region’s local erotic practices, without perpetuating Orientalist imaginaries and imperial politics?
In this seminar, we will explore this question through a combination of lecture and discussion. We will review key theories in gender and sexuality studies, covering perspectives from Orientalism, globalization studies, to decolonial thought, illustrated through examples from my fieldwork in Beirut. Then we will critically examine these approaches through a discussion of the assigned readings.
Dr. Adriana Qubaiova (she/her) is a feminist scholar of gender and sexuality in West Asia and holds a PhD in Comparative Gender Studies. In her teaching and research, she bridges Gender and Sexuality Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Queer Anthropology with a focus on Lebanon. Adriana is currently a Visiting Professor at the Department of Gender Studies at the Central European University in Vienna, Austria.
Attendees should read the assigned readings beforehand and be prepared to engage in discussion:
- Joseph Massad. 2007. Chapter 3 “Re-Orienting Desire: The Gay International and the Arab World” from Desiring Arabs. The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London. Pp. 160-190.
- Adriana Qubaiova. 2023. Chapter 18 “Re-Routing the Sexual: A Regional and Relational Lens in Theorizing Sexuality in the Middle East,” in Pluriversal Conversations on Transnational Feminisms: And Words Collide from a Place, Nina Lykke, Redi Koobak, Petra Bakos, Swati Arora and Kharnita Mohamed (Eds.). Routledge: London and New York. Pp. 203-214
- Maya Mikdashi and Jasbir Puar. 2016. “Queer Theory and Permanent War.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 22 (2): 215–22
- Maya Mikdashi. 2012. “How Not to Study Gender in the Middle East,” Jadaliyya.
The masterclass is open to MA, RMA and PhD students. RMA and PhD students can be awarded 1 ECTS.
Date & Time: September 11, 2026, 13:30 – 17:00 hrs
Location: Utrecht – Janskerkhof 2-3, room 0.17
Registration: https://forms.uu.nl/universiteitutrecht-gw/Masterclass-Qubaiova
ECTS: 1 ECTS, only for PhD and RMA students
