Going beyond a simple introduction to queer theories, this book situates them firmly in a European and Italian context to offers a crucial set of arguments in defence of LGBTQI+ rights, in defence of the freedom of teaching and research, and in defence of a radical idea of democracy.

Lorenzo Bernini is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Verona, Italy, where he founded the Research Centre PoliTeSse (Politics and Theories of Sexuality, www.politesse.it) which he now directs. He is also founding member of GIFTS - the Italian network of Gender, Intersex, Feminist, Trans-feminist and Sexuality Studies (https://retegifts.wordpress.com/). His interests range from classical political philosophy (especially Thomas Hobbes) and French thought of the twentieth century (especially Michel Foucault), to contemporary theories of radical democracy, critical race theories and queer theories. Among his books: Il sessuale politico: Freud con Marx, Fanon, Foucault (2019); Queer Apocalypses: Elements of Antisocial Theory (2017), previously published in Italian (2013) and Spanish (2015); as well as the Italian publication (2017) and Spanish publication (2018) of this book.

Translators' preface: Le teorie queer di Lorenzo Bernini

Introduction: studying queer theories in the Italian university

Chapter 1. Critical theory and political philosophy

Chapter 2. An exercise in queer critique: how does sexuality function?

Chapter 3. Elements of queer theory