New Books in Sociology

Timothy Gitzen, "Banal Security: Queer Korea in the Time of Viruses" (Helsinki UP, 2023)

Dec 13, 2024

Timothy Gitzen, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wake Forest University, delves into the complexities of queer identity in South Korea amidst national security concerns. He explores how queer Koreans are perceived as viral threats in a context of ongoing militarization. Gitzen discusses mundane acts of resistance against stigma and the impact of COVID-19 on the queer community. He highlights the intertwining of nationalism and security, as well as the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ activists in reclaiming their narratives against societal and governmental pressures.

58:00

Episode guests

Timothy Gitzen

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The normalization of the North Korean threat in South Korea leads to perceptions of queer individuals as viral threats to national security.

Queer festivals in South Korea reveal the complex relationship between safety and collaboration with law enforcement amid ongoing societal discrimination.

Deep dives

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Intro

5min

Security and Identity in South Korea

11min

Ordinariness in National Security

7min

Queerness in South Korea: Everyday Resistance and Activism

12min

Understanding Nationalism and Security in South Korea

3min

Queerness and Stigma in South Korea's Pandemic Era

15min

Exploring Security and Science: Current Research in Queer Studies

2min

For more than 70 years, South Korea has woven the threat of North Korea into daily life. But now that threat has become mundane, and South Korean national security addresses family, public health, and national unity. Banal Security: Queer Korea in the Time of Viruses (Helsinki University Press, 2023) illustrates how as a result, queer Koreans are seen to represent a viral threat to national security. Taking readers from police stations and the Constitutional Court to queer activist offices and pride festivals, Timothy Gitzen shows how security weaves through daily life and diffuses the queer threat, in a context where queer Koreans are treated as viral carriers, disruptions to public order, and threats to family and culture.

Timothy Gitzen is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wake Forest University.

Qing Shen recently obtained his PhD in anthropology from Uppsala University, Sweden.

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New Books in Sociology

Timothy Gitzen, "Banal Security: Queer Korea in the Time of Viruses" (Helsinki UP, 2023)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Role of LinkedIn in Hiring Professionals

Banal Security and Queer Koreans

Collaboration and Conflict at Queer Festivals

Stigma and Fear Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts