Queer Theory
Fall 2014
Introduction to Queer Theory
Fall 2014
Eszter Timár
Email: etimar@ceu.hu
1
2 credits
Z508/A
This course will look at the political stakes in the division between heterosexuality and other forms of sexuality
in particular and interrogates the category of “normal” in general. It is organized around some key concepts
fuelling both the thinking of sexuality and the directions of LGBT movements since 1969. The objective of the
course is to give an introduction to the poststructuralist body of queer theory. The purpose of the course is to
foster critical thinking about the aspects of our, and others', lives we think of as “sexuality” as well as to
highlight some basic heteronormative assumptions in modern social thought.
Learning outcomes: At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the main questions within the
poststructuralist body of scholarship interrogating sexual normalcy as a political phenomenon known as queer
theory and will be competent in navigating among its main concepts, concerns and questions. Their analytical
skills will be improved by the close reading of texts that demand an attention to counter-intuitive reflexivity and
therefore improve their skills to engage in independent, critical scholarship and the oral and written assignments
help students to improve their skills to articulate their thoughts as academic questions and problems.
Requirements:
This is a reading-intensive course. You need to come to class having read the assignments and ready to discuss
them. The requirements are designed to fit the difficult reading load of the course and to improve specific skills
of academic writing.
Class participation:
You are required to attend class consistently. Please come to class having read, and bringing with you, the
assigned texts. Your active participation (listening as well as speaking) will be expected. Generally, the more
active class participation is in a class, the more intellectually stimulating it becomes, so I hope that you will
always share your thoughts during discussion. You may miss one class without formal documentation of illness
or any other case of vis major. Please let me know in advance if you know you won’t come to class.
Groupwork:
At the beginning of each class, we’ll spend 15-20 minutes in groups. During this time you can discuss your
impression of the texts and suggest questions for general class discussion. At the end of the class we will
discuss a limited selection of these points and questions. For this component of the course to work well it is
very important that you arrive to class on time.
Exegetic paragraphs (detailed but concise summary of an idea or an argument without any interpretation or
critique):
There is a specific key term or idea identified in almost all of the readings. You find these underlined after the
respective text in the schedule. You will have to write brief exegetic summaries of most of these terms (cca. one
300-word paragraph per exegesis). These exegetic paragraphs will be due in two sets of 6, one at mid-term time
covering the readings from Week 1 to 6, the other at the end of the course covering texts from Week 7 to 12.
The first exegetic paragraph will be due the second class. You can later include this one or a revised version of it
in your midterm set.
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Peer feedback
After submitting the midterm set of exegetic paragraphs, you will receive two sets written by your peers. You
will have to read them carefully and give constructive feedback on them in writing. The feedback will be due
two weeks after you received the sets. Please send them to the writer and to me.
Here are a few tips to write effective exegetic paragraphs:
 Imagine that a friend wants you to explain this concept or idea. How would you explain this concept to
someone who hasn’t read the text?
 Abstain from referring to other texts
 Paraphrase: minimize quoting
 Introduce the concept: where is it employed and what is its general significance (what does the author want
to do with it)?
 What does the author mean by this concept?
 How does this concept fit into the argument of the text?
 Make it economical: don't leave out anything really important (really important is anything that helps the
argument move forward) and don't repeat anything.
Here are a few tips for giving constructive feedback:
 Commend points that make a paragraph effective and helpful
 Commend points where you think the writer was successful in communicating difficult points in their own voice
 Point out places where you are not sure you understand the point
 Point out where you think grammar issues make the point harder to come across
 Indicate where you find repetitions unhelpful
 Indicate where you think paraphrasing would be more helpful instead of quoting
 Indicate if you’ve missed a point or component which would have made the paragraph more comprehensive or
helpful
 Offer clarification where you think appropriate
Grading:
Attendance and participation: 10%
Groupwork: 10%
Exegetic paragraphs: 50%
Feedback: 30%
Note on extensions: If you need an extension on any of the deadlines, email me at least two days prior to the deadline (I will
most likely grant an extension). I may not honor requests that come in last minute. I will most probably not honor requests
about the deadline for giving peer feedback.
Note on plagiarism: It is your responsibility to make sure that your written work does not include any plagiarism (make sure
you clearly mark your notes including quotations for yourself in order to avoid accidentally pasting them in your text). Any
assignment found containing plagiarism will receive an F with no possibility of rewriting and you’ll receive an email
notification of the problem. Any recurrence may result in failing the course.
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Schedule
week 1: Intro
Colacello, Bob. “Interview with Steve Rubell in Interview Magazine.” Morbid-Curiosity.com. Accessed
September 6, 2010 < http://www.morbid-curiosity.com/id156.htm>;
Douglas Crimp: “The Melancholia of AIDS,” Art Journal, Vol. 62, No. 4 (Winter, 2003), pp. 81-90;
queer responsibility
week 2: Foucault
Michel Foucault: excepts from History of Sexuality Vol. 1., trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Vintage
Books), 1988. juridico-discursive model of power
Henry Abelove: “Some Speculations on the History of ‘Sexual Intercourse’ During the “Long Eighteenth
Century” in England, in Andrew Parker et.al., eds., Nationalisms and Sexualities (New York and London:
Routledge), 1992, 335-343;
week 3 : “Sexuality”
Michel Foucault: “Friendship as a Way of Life,” “Sexual Choice, Sexual Act,” in Ethics: Subjectivity and
Truth: The Essential Works of Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol.1.(The New Press: New York), 1997, 51-57,
135-140, 141-156 (respectively) (a short text entitled “Abnormals” is also included as recommended
reading); way of life
David Halperin: “Is There a History of Homosexuality” in Henry Abelove et. al. (eds.), The Lesbian and
Gay Studies Reader (New York and London: Routledge), 1993, pp. 416-432; sex in Athens
week 4: Kindred spirits
Michael Warner: “Introduction” in Michael Warner (ed.), Fear of a Queer Planet: Queer Politics and
Social Theory (University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis and London), 1993, pp. vii-xxxi; queerness
Kath Weston: “Get Thee To a Big City” in Long, Slow Burn: Sexuality and Social Science (New York
and London: Routledge), 1998, 29-57. the sexual imaginarium
week 5: Protest
Douglas Crimp: “Introduction” October, Vol. 43, AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism (Winter,
1987), 3-16; activist art
Leo Bersani: “Is the Rectum a Grave?” October, Vol. 43, AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism
(Winter, 1987), pp. 197- 222. the general public
week 6: “Lesbian”
Judith Butler: “Imitation and Gender Insubordination” in Sarah Salih, Judit Butler eds., The Judith Butler
Reader, 119-137 (Malden, MA: Blackwell), 2004. original vs copy
week 7: Bisexuality
Clare Hemmings: “Bisexual Landscapes,” in Bisexual Spaces (New York and London:
Routledge), 2002, 15-53; bisexual temporality
First set of exegetic paragraphs due
week 8: Queer colors
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José Esteban Muñoz: “The White to Be Angry: Vaginal Davis's Terrorist Drag,” Social Text 52/53, Vol.
15, Nos. 3-4, Fall/Winter 1997, 80-103; terrorist drag
Martin F. Manalansan IV: “Race, Violence and the Neoliberal Spatial Politics in the Global City,” Social
Text 84-85, Vol. 23, Nos 3-4, Fall-Winter 2005, 141-155; Latino Chelsea
week 9: Trans
Erin Calhoun Davis: “Situating ‘Fluidity’: (Trans) Gender Identification and the Regulation of Gender
Diversity,” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, Volume 15, Number 1, 2009, pp. 97-130.
fluidity
Riki Lane: “Trans as Bodily Becoming: Rethinking the Biological as Diversity, Not Dichotomy,”
Hypatia, Volume 24, Issue 3, (Summer 2009), 136–157. nature
week 10: From paranoid to reparative
Eve Kosofsky-Sedgwick: “Paranoid Reading and Reparative Reading, Or, You’re So Paranoid, you
Probably Think This Essay Is About You,” in Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity
(Durham and London: Duke University Press), 2003, pp. 123-153; reparative reading
Recommended: Judith Halberstam: “The Queer Art of Failure,” in The Queer Art of Failure (Durham and London:
Duke University Press), 2011, pp. 87-123.
week 11: Homonormativity
Jasbir K. Puar. “Terrorist Assemblages,” Social Text 84–85, Vol. 23, Nos. 3–4, Fall–Winter 2005, 121139; queer terrorist
Recommended: Jasbir K. Puar: “Coda: The Cost of Getting Better: Suicide, Sensation, Switchpoint,” GLQ, 18:1,
2011, 149-159;
week 12: Belonging
Tim Dean: “Cruising as a Way of Life,” in Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of
Barebacking, (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press), 2009, 176-212; viral
consanguinity
Recommended: Tim Dean: “Breeding Culture: Barebacking, Bugchasing, Giftgiving,” Massachusetts Review
49:1&2 (2008): 80-94;
Second set of exegetic paragraphs due.
This syllabus is subject to change.