Penn Arts & Sciences Logo
 

Queer Politics, Queer Communities

ENGL 0105.201
instructor(s):
Friday 11-12:00pm

 

What is sexuality? Does it exist in the body or in the mind? Is it a collection of actions, desires, and fantasies, or is it rather a disposition, a way of seeing oneself, an identity? Does what we want depend on who we are? Does what we do define who we are? This course will address such questions by introducing students to several classic texts in the history and theory of sexuality and by looking at key moments in the struggle for sexual and gender freedom. The history we trace will focus on the effects of the "invention of homosexuality" in the late-nineteenth century; the history of butch/femme community; the cultural moment of Stonewall and gay liberation; the emergence of the transgender rights movement; the "Sex Wars" of the 1980s; women of color and queer of color critiques; and responses to HIV/AIDS. We will also consider the meaning of "queer," global sexualities, same-sex marriage, the politics of emotion, and gay normalization.

Recitation for ENGL 105.001

fulfills requirements