RavEcs · Rave ecstasy. Political dimensions of queering identities.

Ecstatic states in the context of raves, and particularly their implications for identity transformation, represent a complex and timely research topic for the social sciences and humanities in Europe. The RavEcs project will conduct an empirical research into the political dimension of ecstatic rave experiences, understood as processes of de- and re-subjectivation, with a particular emphasis on their impact on gender identity. To this end, the research will articulate three key stages: 1) The collection of qualitative data on these experiences and their links to identity re-signification (WP1 & OE1); 2) An analysis of their political ambivalences, enabled by Queer Theory (WP2 & OE2); and finally, 3) The elaboration of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework in dialogue with current debates within Critical Theory (WP3 & OE3). This research will be carried out at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), involving its departments of sociology and philosophy, and will feature a secondment at the Institute for Queer Theory (iQt) in Berlin.Objetives: 1. To identify and analyze how ravers link ecstatic experiences with processes of re-signifying their identities (WP1). 2. To recognize political tensions of post-ecstasy re-subjectivation processes, analyzing how ravers negotiate their identities between everyday practices of integration and forms of resistance to normativity (WP1, WP2)3. To construct an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that synthesizes empirical findings with Queer and Critical Theory, offering a new analytical tool for understanding identity transformations within aesthetic experiences (WP3).