Benno Gammerl

Benno Gammerl is a Full-time Professor of History of Gender and Sexuality at the European University Institute (EUI), where he has directed graduate studies since 2021. Previously, he co-founded the Centre for Queer History at Goldsmiths, University of London, and conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. His interdisciplinary work bridges postcolonial theory, feminist studies, and emotional history, with a focus on marginalized communities.

Research Focus:

• Queer historiography in modern Germany, tracing legal/social evolution from imperial era to reunification
• Intersection of migration and sexuality, analyzing how mobility reshaped intimate practices in 20th-century Europe
• Oral history methodologies centering voices of LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly through autobiographical narratives
• Emotional impacts of legal discrimination and liberation movements in post-war Germany

He leads the Queer and Feminist Studies Working Group and Interviewing/Oral History Working Group at EUI. His publications demonstrate consistent examination of how power structures shape intimate lives, with recent works emphasizing spatial dimensions of queer history and methodological innovations.

Supervision & Collaborations: Gammerl mentors 17 doctoral researchers on topics ranging from Sicilian anti-mafia LGBTQ+ activism to 18th-century Parisian lesbian networks. He collaborates with Goldsmiths Centre for Queer History and Vienna's Sammlung Frauennachlässe archive, strengthening transnational research networks.