Queer Horror Week

About Queer Horror Week

The University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Working Group seeks to provide as many opportunities as possible for the study and enjoyment of horror, including building an academic infrastructure, supporting new generations of filmmakers, artists, and fans, and funding and organizing events devoted to exploring the academic possibilities of the horror genre, especially its social and cultural significance. Over several years, Queer Horror Week has become a critical component of the HSWG’s annual programming, featuring the work of queer creators and artists, and providing opportunities to discuss how horror can provide a creative outlet, a tool of self-expression, and a basis for groundbreaking theory around queerness, identity, and genre studies.

Queer Horror Week 2022, beginning October 3, 2022, focuses on soundscapes of horror, and is devoted to intersectionality and accessibility. In our programming, we recognize horror’s history of, and potential for, discussing and demonstrating “othering” and “otherness,” as well as the need to make these conversations available and welcoming for participants of multiple identities, classes, and abilities. We are delighted to welcome two leading podcasts, The White Vault, an Unwell as part of this conversation. Both productions feature diverse teams that model inclusivity and accessibility, while breaking new ground in the technical and creative aspects of horror production. Their insight and imaginative approach to horror will frame our events, and will inspire students to create their own horror soundscapes through a podcast competition that will launch during Queer Horror Week. We are also honored to work with the Welcomed by Design podcast, which focuses on issues of design and accessibility, who will share insights about how to ensure that the doors to creativity are open to all who wish to participate. Our concurrent programming will end with a celebration of some of the HSWG’s own scholars, whose work demonstrates how horror studies can provide a framework for thinking about and complicating notions of queerness, identity, embodiment, and transformative social justice.

Queer Horror Week 2022 is eager to apply queer theory to every facet of our work, disrupting traditional notions of sex, gender, academic study, and time itself in the course of our work and programming. As such, Queer Horror Week 2022 represents only a beginning of a sustained and robust program of events. Please stay tuned for more information, especially regarding our Student Podcast Competition