While Black Queer Studies is a relatively young field in academia, Black queer brilliance has a much longer history. In this course, we will examine key genealogies, debates, and questions emerging from the intersections of blackness, gender, sexuality, and class in the U.S. and other sites in the African diaspora. This course will cross both disciplinary and methodological boundaries as we examine histories of Black queer and queer of color social movements; literature that reflects Black LGBTQ experiences; Black queer performances; and the numerous interventions that Black queer theories have made into questions of family, belonging, citizenship, futures, and performance. Students registering for this class should have some background in Black or African American/Diasporic studies, preferably at least one course in AAS; or, at least one course in gender and sexuality studies with special attention to race and intersectionality. Graduate students are welcome with instructor permission.