Even though human geography is part of my research area besides sound studies and queer studies, the 7th European Geographies of Sexualities Conference at the University of Brighton was the first geography conference I have attended.
My aim was to learn more about research in the field of queer geographies as this is where I will make my contribution to knowledge.
I selected sessions that seemed to fit some of the themes that had already emerged through my participant engagement and data collection, all centred around comfort and discomfort with sexualities and the city.
Later on the second day, I decided to drift from my initial decision and rather than attending more sessions on comfort and the city, I attended sessions on queer refugees and queer sensing methods, following other conference attendees I was surrounded with. I also ditched the Brighton queer walking tour and went straight to the post-conference social as I was having a good conversation with another delegate who was heading that way.
I was inspired by what Dr Nick McGlynn, organiser and researcher, said during his introduction to the conference. We should not feel like we need to be productive and attend everything; we can also take breaks, have a walk, do whatever. I decided to not overthink and just let myself drift throughout the conference in order to be in the moment.
Have I attended all sessions that might have been relevant to me? No. Have I spoken to everyone I should have probably spoken to? No. Was I in the moment and listened to what my body told me was the right thing to do? Yes.
All the useful and not useful moments led to a productive tension and offered me prompts to think further. While affect and sensory methods have been researched in the context of identity and space, they have not been researched in relation to queerness and the city specifically. This shows that my project will make a useful contribution to the research field by investigating queerness in the city through sound and affect while also connecting to existing research.
Attending a conference is an affective, sensory experience and we should embrace its messiness and approach it more in an open, playful way. This might lead to new, unexpected ideas and outcomes. It is also a way to counteract the pressures we face in the neoliberal university by caring for ourselves and each other.
