ProfessorMerrillCole M-Cole@wiu.edu http://faculty.wiu.edu/M-Cole/ Office: Simpkins109 Hours: MW,2:00-3:00p.m. TTh,3:30-4:30p.m. QueerStudies100,Section001 SpringSemester2016 M,5:30–8:00p.m. Simpkins114 Texts Aoki,Ryka.SeasonalVelocities. Bechtel,Alison.FunHome:AFamilyTragicomic. Bordo,Susan.TheMaleBody. Foucault,Michel.TheHistoryofSexuality,Volume1. Freud,Sigmund.ThreeEssaysontheTheoryofSexuality. Gibson,MichelleA.,etal.FindingOut:IntroductiontoLGBTStudies. Kaufman,Moisés.TheLaramieProject. Winterson,Jeanette.OrangesAreNottheOnlyFruit. Wojnarowicz,David.ClosetotheKnives. Wewillalsowatchfilms,viewartworks,andlistentomusic.Therewillbematerialto downloadfrommywebsiteandonWesternOnline. 2 Course Introduction Whatare“QueerStudies”?Forculturalconservatives,thesewordssignifyatbestthe declineofacademicstudyintothetrivialandtheobscene,andatworsttherecruitment ofinnocentyouthintoalifeofdepravity,despair,anddisease.Manyself-identified lesbiansandgaymen,moreover,objecttotheword,“queer.”Somearguethatithasan implicitmasculinebias,liketheword,“gay,”beforeit;othersfinditanuglytermof derogation;stillothersseeitastooinclusive,deeplyuncomfortablewiththefactthat certainpracticingheterosexualshaveappropriated“queer”astheadjectiveofchoicefor theirownactivities.Oftenqueeractivistsoutsideacademiadisparage“queerstudies,” alongwithitskissingcousin,“queertheory,”asivorytowermumbo-jumbo,uselessto people’severydaystruggles.Evenqueerstudiessupportersdisagreeaboutwhatthis relativelynewfieldshouldbecome,afieldofstudyjustestablishedatWIU. Yetthedisciplineofqueerstudiesprovidesindispensabletoolsforstudyingsexual diversity,thediversitythatthisclasswillexploreinavarietyofmedia,including literature,film,andvisualart.Thecoursewillalsoprovidehistoricalcontextanddelve intopoliticalcontroversies.Queerstudiesdoesnotsimplyaffirmnon-normativesexuality andgender,butinterrogatesthemeaningofhumaneroticisminallofitsforms,including theheterosexualandcisgender.Queerstudiesofferspowerfulmodesofsocialcritique. Perhapsthisconjunctionofsexandstudyappearsnonsensical,orsilly.Listen,then,tothe wordsofAudreLorde:“Oureroticknowledgeempowersus,becomesalensthrough whichwescrutinizeallaspectsofourexistence,forcingustoevaluatethoseaspects honestlyintermsoftheirrelativemeaningwithinourlives.Andthisisagrave responsibility,projectedfromwithineachofus,nottosettlefortheconvenient,the shoddy,theconventionallyexpected,northemerelysafe.” Requirements IntroductiontoQueerStudies(IQ)involvestwofive-pageclosereadingessays,one personalnarrative,andafinal,self-reflectiveessay.Youwillreceiveanassignmentsheet foreach.Allassignmentsandhomeworkshouldbeforwardedtomebeforethestartof classbyemailasMicrosoftWordattachments. Formostclasses,Iwillassigntwotofourstudents,onarotatingbasis,theresponsibility tofashionfivetypeddiscussionquestions.Thequestionsshouldbesenttomeas MicrosoftWordattachmentsbeforeclassbegins. Participationmeansdoingthereadingsandjoininginclassdiscussionregularly. Seehttp://www.wiu.edu/provost/students.phpforstudentrightsandresponsibilities. 3 Grading Participation: 20% Homework: 10% DiscussionQuestions: 10% PersonalNarrative: 10% FirstEssay: 20% SecondEssay: 20% Self-ReflectiveEssay: 10% Missingclasses,orarrivinglate,willaffecttheparticipationgrade.Astudentwithmore thantwounexcusedabsencesautomaticallyfailsthecourse.Iamlenient,though:ifyou givemeavalidreasontomiss,ortohavemissed,asession,Iwillprobablyexcuseyou(I mayaskfordocumentation.). Allessays,excepttheSelf-ReflectiveEssay,canberewritten. Pleasetaketheopportunitytomeetwithmeduringmyofficehours,orbyappointment, totalkaboutthereadings,oryourwriting.Iverymuchappreciateanykindoffeedback aboutthecourse. Students with Disabilities InaccordancewithUniversityvaluesanddisabilitylaw,studentswithdisabilitiesmay requestacademicaccommodationswherethereareaspectsofacoursethatresultin barrierstoinclusionoraccurateassessmentofachievement.Tofileanofficialrequestfor disability-relatedaccommodations,pleasecontacttheDisabilityResourceCenterat309298-2512,disability@wiu.eduorin143MemorialHall.Pleasenotifytheinstructoras soonaspossibletoensurethatthiscourseisaccessibletoyouinatimelymanner. Schedule Iamopentomakingchangestokeepthelearningsituationactiveanddynamic.Therewill beabreakfor15minutesaroundthemiddleofeachsession. January25: Introduction to the course. Audre Lorde handout. Paris Is Burning (video). February1: FindingOut:Chapters1&2;OrangesAreNottheOnlyFruit,1-124. 4 February8: February15: February22: February29: March7: FindingOut:Chapters3&4;finishOrangesAreNottheOnlyFruit;52 Tuesdays(video). TheLaramieProject;52Tuesdays(video). FindingOut:Chapters5&6;TheMaleBody,3-104. EssayOnedue. TheMaleBody,153-225.VideoTBA. FindingOut,Chapters7&8;ThreeEssaysontheTheoryofSexuality, xxix-38(Prefaces&“TheSexualAberrations”). Spring Break March21: ThreeEssaysontheTheoryofSexuality,39-109(“InfantileSexuality”& “TheTransformationsofPuberty.”) PersonalNarrativedue. March28: FindingOut,Chapters9&10.HistoryofSexuality,3-73.Seasonal Velocities,3-29. April4: HistoryofSexuality,75-114.FinishSeasonalVelocities. RykaAokireadingonApril7at7:00p.m. April11: FinishHistoryofSexuality.FunHome,1-86. April18: FindingOut,Chapters12&13.FinishFunHome. April25: ClosetotheKnives,3-63.DamnedintheUSA(video). SecondEssaydue. May2: FindingOut,Chapters14&15.ClosetotheKnives,64-110;111-23; 138-42. Self-ReflectiveEssaydueonMonday,May9at1:00p.m.,orThursday,May5at10:00 a.m.forcomments.