QUILTING POINTS:

For our fifth and final session of this semester, we will be reading a section from the second chapter of Ahmed's The Promise of Happiness (2010), entitled 'Feminist Killjoys.' A PDF is accessible here . For further reading on the figure of the   killjoy we suggest the essay 'Feminist Killjoys (And Other Willful Subjects)' which is available  here .  The Promise of Happiness highlights how the killjoy emerges in relation to many of the figures who populate Ahmed's arguments, responding to the conditions of other affect aliens and contesting the idea of happiness itself. As Ahmed explains 't he feminist killjoy ‘spoils’ the happiness of others; she is a spoilsport because she refuses to convene, to assemble or to meet up over happiness' (65). Our reading for this week allows us to reflect upon many of our discussions and themes from semester one, raising important considerations of happy objects, willful subjects and much more.  The figure of ...

Quilting Points returns for a sixth year with a new focus on Sara Ahmed. We’re delighted to announce the return of Quilting Points, an interdisciplinary, critical and cultural reading group and seminar series at the University of Leeds. This year we'll be facilitating a year-long discussion on the work of Sara Ahmed, one of the most prolific and influential contemporary thinkers currently working in the UK. Examining her monographs, essays and  blog entries  we'll look at how Ahmed has shaped the fields of postcolonial studies, feminism, queer theory, ethic studies and critical race theory. As an independent scholar and writer who scrutinises the operations of power in every day life, as well as institutions like the university, Ahmed's critical and intellectual range only looks set to widen in the future. As a group, we're looking forward to discussing and reading Ahmed while her critical project is still ongoing and we welcome individuals from across the universit...