Urning: Queer Identity in the German Nineteenth Century

“Pretsell’s Urning is a much-needed addition to the existing scholarship on the beginnings of modern queer history. Thoroughly researched and engaging with that literature with admirable prowess and argumentative confidence, it challenges Foucauldian paradigms and traditional (bourgeois, metronormative) understandings of queer history.” Mathias Foit, Fachhochschule des Mittelstands, Journal of Homosexuality

“Douglas Pretsell’s new book contributes to a lively reassessment of the interpretation of sexual knowledge (especially the emerging field of sexology) in relation to how real people understood themselves, to public consciousness of sexual difference, and to emancipation activism. What we see here is the strong degree to which queer people self-consciously intervened in their own representation, leading to – but also pushing against – the understandings of sexuality we take for granted today.” Scott Spector, Rudolf Mrazek Collegiate Professor of History and German Studies, University of Michigan

“By delving into unexplored archives of correspondence between Ulrichs and those who surrounded him, Pretsell undertakes an important new ‘history from below.’ He unpacks how a generation of men came to understand – and value – themselves as urnings, laying the groundwork for future generations of activists and queers. This is a scrupulously researched, insightful, and important book.” Katie Sutton, Associate Professor of German and Gender Studies, Australian National University

“This book is a major contribution to the study of an essential transition period in our understanding of the urning/homosexual.” Hubert Kennedy, Author of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs: Pioneer of the Modern Gay Movement

“Urning tells the inspirational story of a group of nineteenth-century visionaries who pioneered what we now call LGBTQ+ consciousness and the struggle for queer freedom. They risked all to challenge the homophobic consensus a century before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. A fascinating hidden history revealed.”

Peter Tatchell, Activist and Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation