What meanings do the terms “queer” and “of color” carry? How do different literary and artistic genres represent the experiences of (racial, sexual, gender, or other social) minorities? What relationships can we trace between textual legibility (how a work of art can, or asks to, be interpreted) and cultural legibility (how an individual or community can, or asks to, be identified)? In this course, we will explore these questions as we read, watch, and evaluate artistic works that transport us across the globe—from Parisian bars to the Rio Grande Valley to Philippine jungles to Oklahoman indigenous communities.
In our travels across space, time, and genre, we will consider the benefits—as well as the limitations—of understanding the term “queer” not simply as a reference to LGBT identities but, more expansively, as a signifier of opposition to any number of sociopolitical norms. Similarly, we will contemplate what can be gained (or lost) by taking comparative and intersectional approaches to the study of race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and nation. How useful is it, for instance, to understand subjects as “of color” rather than “black” or “Asian”? What do we learn when we shift our focus from, say, “Latinos” or “the gay community” to “trans Afro-Latinas in the U.S.”?
Required Books:
James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room (1956)
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987)
Jessica Hagedorn, Dogeaters (1990)
Craig S. Womack, Drowning in Fire (2001)
Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019)
This course satisfies the following CURRENT English major/minor requirements: American Literature, Identity/Difference
This course satisfies the following NEW English major/minor requirements: Foundations & Methods (300/400-level), Regions (Americas, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland), Time (Contemporary/Modern)
Course Requirements:
Writing assignments will include regular reading responses, two short essays, and a final research project (that you will draft, review with your classmates, and then revise) related to the major themes of the course.
Intended Audience:
This course is open to undergraduates across all departments and programs.