Intro To Queer Studies

Professor: Jaclyn Pryor Term: 2011S

Meeting Info:  Monday 10:30 AM - 11:50 AM Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH) 107 Wednesday 10:30 AM - 11:50 AM Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH) 107

Description: This course will provide an introduction to queer studies, tracking its emergence and developments since the 1990s, as well as its relation to prior debates in lesbian and gay studies, feminism, and postcolonial theory. That is, we will focus on recent developments in queer theory, queer activism, and cultural production, and read them alongside background and foundational texts, debates, and social movements. We will consider both theory and culture to be our ?primary texts.? We will begin by reading the recent issue of Social Text, ? What?s Queer About Queer Theory Now?? (Eng, Halberstam, and Muqoz), move through central theories and debates in the field, and examine recent cultural production?including queer films, television, and performance?as sites of resistance and critique. Topics covered include: mass culture and subcultures; representation and visibility; migration and diaspora; trauma; transgender theory; HIV/AIDS; grief and loss; religion and sexuality; queer temporalities; queer space/place; marriage; and human rights.