On Friday 18 May there was lively debate when 70 participants attended the Gender, Sexuality and the Sensory symposium hosted by the Gender, Sexuality and Culture and the Visual and Sensory research clusters with Feminist Theory journal.

With the turn to affect, the rise of various new materialisms and increasing interest in the non- or more-than representational approaches, scholars across the humanities and social sciences have increasingly explored the significance of affect, atmosphere, mood, and the sensory to the contemporary workings of social life and relations.

Speakers from the Universities of Kent, Leicester, Cambridge, Middlesex, Goldsmiths and UCL addressed what significance explorations of the sensory have for contemporary analysis of gender, sex and sexuality and, in turn, how contemporary gender, feminist and queer theories can, and are, contributing to intellectual, practice-based, and activist engagements with the sensory. During the breaks, attendees explored the ideas at a feminist craftivism workshop.

One of the organisers, Dr Carolyn Pedwell, said ‘We were delighted to bring together at Kent such a dynamic group of speakers and delegates from across the UK to explore the critical links between gender, sexuality and the sensory. The diverse talks were extremely stimulating, as were the many questions and comments from participants, which made for a wonderfully engaging and generative atmosphere’