Gay and Queer Berlin

Review Podcast: Homosexuality_ies at the German Historical Museum

Joseph Pearson 09/07/201523/06/2018

Advertisement: Homage to Benglis, part of the larger body of work CUTS: A Traditional Sculpture, 2011. A six month durational performance Image courtesy of Heather Cassils and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. © Heather Cassils and Robin Black 2011. Used with permission. — Advertisement: Homage to Benglis.
Image courtesy of Heather Cassils and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. © Heather Cassils and Robin Black 2011. Used with permission.

If nothing else, it’s a conversation piece. Not everyone will be happy with the recently inaugurated exhibit on Homosexualt_ies (Homosexualitaet_en) at the German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum) and Gay* Museum (Schwules* Museum). Regardless, hosted by the federal history museum, it represents Germany’s most important post-reunification exhibit on queer life. We do have one question: is it really about homosexuality?

As something of an experiment, The Needle offers this week a podcast (let’s call it, “The Thread”) reviewing the exhibition. In conversation with editor and historian, Joseph Pearson, is Dr. James Helgeson, a specialist at the University of Nottingham in literary theory and Renaissance studies, with an interest in Queer theory. To hear the podcast, click in the Mp3 file below. As we figure out the technology, we promise more podcasts in future. Enjoy!

Joseph Pearson

Joseph Pearson (1975) is writer and historian based in Berlin. Born in Canada, he was educated at Cambridge University, UK, where he received his doctorate in history in 2001. Since 2008, he has written The Needle, which has become one of Berlin's most popular blogs. His portrait of the German capital, Berlin, for Reaktion Press was published in 2017. His second book, My Grandfather's Knife, was published by HarperCollins and the History Press in 2022. He is also the essayist and blogger of the Schaubühne Theatre, one of Berlin's best known state-funded institutions. His writing has appeared widely in the press, literary and academic journals, and has been translated into Italian, German, French, and Arabic. Having taught at Columbia University in New York City, he lectures in Berlin at New York University Berlin (since 2012) and the Barenboim-Said Academy.

Joseph Pearson is a writer and historian based in Berlin. His non-fiction portrait of Berlin was published in 2017. He published a second book, My Grandfather’s Knife, about how everyday objects tell World War Two stories, in 2022. His writing has appeared widely in the press, literary and academic journals, and has been translated into German, Italian, French, Arabic, and other languages. Born in Canada, he was educated at Cambridge University, UK, where he received his doctorate in history in 2001. He works at New York University, Berlin, and at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Since 2008, he has written The Needle, which has become one of Berlin’s most popular blogs. For professional inquiries please contact his agency, Peters Fraser Dunlop, email him directly joseph [AT] cantab.net, or visit his professional website: josephpearson.ca