Introduction: Researching Queer Death

Abstract

The present article serves as an introduction to the dossier What do we talk about when we talk about queer death?, edited by M. Petricola. This introduction briefly interrogates the premises, scope, and objectives of Queer Death Studies (QDS) in such a way as to complement the views expressed by the contributors to this collection. I will begin to discuss the premises on which QDS are based in a preamble focused on Italo Calvino’s book Mr. Palomar. Section one will provide a more systematic and analytical perspective on these same premises. I will move on to reconstruct some crucial moments in the genealogy of QDS in Section two and conclude by sketching a research program for QDS in Section three.

Keywords

• thanatology
• death studies
• queer theory
• identity
• category theory