Dr Shaban Darakchi will present his research proposal on the topic: "Emergence and Development of LGBTQ Activism and the Anti-LGBTQ Movements in Post-Soviet Bulgaria" on 18 April 2019 (Thursday) at 16:30h at CAS conference hall.

Abstract:

This study will explore the emergence and development of LGBTQ activism in Bulgaria, making a crucial contribution to existing literature on the topic of social movements. More specifically, it will contribute to the understanding of the LGBTQ activism and the so called „anti LGBTQ movements" in a post-socialist Bulgarian context, investigating the emergence and collision of these forms of social collective actions, having in mind a) the socialist past in Bulgaria, (b) the enlargement of EU in 2007, and (c) global processes, the Internet and social media. Furthermore, challenging the Western concept of LGBTQ activism and identity politics, another main goal of this project will be to investigate to what extent the notion of "LGBTQ activism" is relevant in a Bulgarian context and what the similarities and differences are of the emerging activism to wider Eastern European and global context.

Dr. Shaban Darakchi is a junior researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Science. His main professional interests are gender, sexuality, ethnicity and religion in Eastern Europe and Bulgaria. His doctoral thesis explores the changing gender roles and notions of sexuality among the Bulgarian Muslims. He is currently working on a project investigating the structure and the development of LGBTI minorities and activism in Bulgaria in the context of globalization. In 2014 he was a Fulbright Visiting Fellow at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, USA and in 2016 he spent 6 months at the Australian Centre for Sex Research as an Endeavour Fellow.