HSOC-213: "Queer and Now"

This introductory queer studies course explores multiple ways of defining the broad term "queer" and the sexual and cultural practices that exceed what is often called "normal." As the LGBTQ acronym continues to expand (+IAP, etc.), we will ask, how and why did human sexuality become an object of study? And why do we frequently use theoretical language to talk about sexuality and gender? To address these questions, we will examine a cross-section of the many academic discourses-spanning the fields of history, critical theory, psychology and psychoanalysis, critical ethnic studies, literary and cultural studies, sociology, and sexology-that have enabled the formation of queer studies as an area of inquiry. At the same time, we will explore queer studies' roots in street protest, desire and "experience," and popular representation. Necessarily, our approach to the field will be intersectional and transdisciplinary: we will take for granted the idea that sexuality and gender cannot be discussed apart from race, class, nationality, religious ideology, and other identifications. The course thus offers a constellated history, i.e. one that is not always linear, in an effort to illuminate the various attempts that have been made to capture and classify the queer experience globally, as well as in the Western contexts with which many of us are so familiar.