I. ASCRC General Education Form (revised 3/19/14)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change or
renew existing gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be
submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status.
Group
II. Mathematics
VII: Social Sciences
(submit
III. Language
VIII: Ethics & Human Values
separate forms
III Exception: Symbolic Systems * IX: American & European
if requesting
IV: Expressive Arts
X: Indigenous & Global
more than one
x V: Literary & Artistic Studies
XI: Natural Sciences
general
w/ lab  w/out lab 
education
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies
group
* Require a Symbolic Systems Request Form.
designation)
Dept/Program English/Literature
Course #
LIT 378L
Course Title
Prerequisite
Gay and Lesbian Studies
Consent of the instructor
Credits
3
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Casey Charles
Phone / Email Casey.charles@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair Beverly Chin, Chair, English
Dean
Chris Comer / Jenny McNulty
III. Type of request
New
One-time Only
Renew x
s/Casey Charles
Change
Date
11.01/1
4
Remove
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
Gay and Lesbian film and literature
continues to be an integral part of
the require diversity curriculum in
the English Department and the
university. I was on leave last year
so was not able to renew the L
status for the course, which serves
students from across campus who
wish to explore LGBTIQ studies
from a humanities perspective. It
is, I think, a unique course that
serves the student body as a whole.
Students develop a familiarity with
the significant forms of artistic
representation that depict same-sex
relations, and in conjunction with
an introduction to the major
theories of sexual orientation and
gender construction, analyze and
explore the way artistic
representation are influenced by
and influence perceived and
realized understandings of the
spectrum of gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender, and intersex
experience. Gay and Lesbian
Studies is one of the only courses
on campus that introduces all
students to the varieties of “queer “
representation; it therefore serves
and is offered to students of all
majors, who are seek to familiarize
themselves with gay and lesbian
studies.
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of the general education course: General Education courses
must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble.
Students develop a familiarity with the significant forms of artistic representation that depict
same-sex relations, and in conjunction with an introduction to the major theories of sexual
orientation and gender construction, analyze and explore the way artistic representation are
influenced by and influence perceived and realized understandings of the spectrum of gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex experience. Gay and Lesbian Studies is one of the
only courses on campus that introduces all students to the varieties of “queer “ representation; it
therefore serves and is offered to students of all majors, who are seek to familiarize themselves
with gay and lesbian studies.
I attach two syllabi. The course takes different approaches: contemporary queer literature
(attached), gay and lesbian literature (generally from Gigamesh to “Brokeback Mountain”), gay
and lesbian film and literature (attached).
V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group.
Students read and view primary works of
artistic representation—ranging from
Twelfth Night to Middlesex—from Whitman
to Adrienne Rich—as a foundation for the
application of the theories of same-sex
relations that span historical and theoretical
thinking on this subject. Students develop
arguments about the primary texts through
an application of this thinking to a close
reading of the text through in-class
examinations and essay writing.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals.
1.
The goals of this course are three: 1) to give
students the language—both theoretical and
practical—to understand the complexities of
same-sex experience from cultural and
historical perspectives, 2) through in-class
and take-home essay writing as well as
participation, to teach students to develop
arguments about artistic representation
through employing the contextual
perspectives explored in (1), and 3) to teach
students to revise and redevelop their
written and oral arguments through
undertaking a series of theoretically
informed analyses of literature and
other artistic representation.
2.
3.
VII. Assessment: How are the learning goals above measured? Please list at least one
assignment, activity or test question for each goal.
1. cultural and historical perspectives on same-sex literature: FUN HOME: A
Tragicomic (2006) Seven years in the making.
How do you pronounce the title?
Alison Bechdel (b 1960 in Lock Haven, PA), author of Dykes to Watch Out For.
Married in San Francisco (annulled by the state) lives in Burlington, VT.
Divorced. Grad. Oberlin 1981; rejected from art school. See The Indelible
Alison Bechdel
Genre:
a) Comic book (narrative sequential art not necessarily funny)
See also: The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck (1837)
Adventures of TinTin
Maus (1966)
Rawhide Kid (2003)—gay remake; Homo Patrol; Sticky; Lost
Girls; Shirtlifter; Young Boys in Love; Prism: Your Guide to LGBT Comics (2007); 2000AD;
Mantra.
Aka graphic novel; bande desinee; manga (Japanese)
b) memoir; autobiography
The Lesbian Canon: Sappho, The Well of Loneliness; Rubyfruit Jungle; Adrienne Rich;
Contemporary: Winterson, Waters, Allison
Issues:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
Find an allusion in Chapter 4, 5, 6, and 7. Look it up.
Find the title of a Chapter in the text. Why is it important?
What is the relationship between art and sexuality?
What is the relationship between father and daughter?
How does Bechdel discuss gender in the text?
How does the narration operate? Show the difference between plot and story?
How do the graphics in the book work in relation to the text?
What is the book saying about the nuclear (as opposed to the new queer) family?
Find an instance of homophobia in the book.
2.develop arguments through textual analysis:
GLBTIQ PROJECT: FILM AND LITERATURE
Rough Draft due March 26
Project Length 15 to 20 pages
Discourses of Engagement:
Queer Theory, History, Terminology
Film Terminology and Theory
Film Adaptation
Subject Matter:
Find your argument or thesis through the study of a text or biographical representation that is
translated or brought to the screen.
1. What does the adaptation tell you about the filmmaker’s queer perspective vs. the text’s
perspective?
2. How does a close reading of adaptation (realism/expressionism, the gayze, mise en
scene, montage) in relation to specific parts of the text or bio help to illustrate your
argument?
3. What does the adaptation tell us about queer social consciousness—historically,
socially, economically, psychologically, politically, culturally?
4. What queer theory or history applies to your text/film? In what way?
5. What other works by the author or filmmaker supplement or comment on your
argument? What other similarly themed works of film or literature add to your
argument (vampire stories or queer trials or queer films in the 30s or … )?
6. What social history adds to our understanding of the context of these cultural
productions (film and text)?
Resources:
Articles and books on the film or the text
Queer Theory that applies to your thesis
Other writings and films that apply to the text and film
Articles and books on other critical contexts: cultural studies, psychoanalysis, feminism,
ecostudies, postcolonial studies etc.
Possible Structure:
1) introduction on the context of the primary texts (author, dates, reception?, auteur, film
reception). Thesis
2) Introduction to the background of the production of the texts artistically, culturally,
historically.
3) Background could include the context of the film in terms of other writings by the
author, other films by the director
4) Main thesis or argument developed: the close reading section. Make sure to establish
the setting of your scene including an overview of the plot. Study frames, shot, gaze,
film theory, montage, sound, codes (acting, cultural, costumes, musical connotations).
All of these must be in the service of your LGBTIQ thesis
3. revision:
REVISION
A process of looking again, revisiting the text, your thesis, your argument. Sharpening,
focusing, changing, condensing, expanding, correcting, rewriting, relearning.
MACRO:
1) Thesis—must have an approach that is informed by theory. Develop a main point of
view about the text you are going to read.
2) Proof of Thesis: close reading of your passage includes a) tracking the progression of
the language, b) discussing metaphors, imagery, symbolism, allusions, c) discussing
tone, diction, rhetoric, d) discussing context.
3) Textual Evidence—all broad statements made about the text need to be supported by
evidence from the text—specifics about what happened, quotations, citations.
4) Love the Lit—use particular details from the text whenever possible.
5) Avoid the intentional fallacy. Do not make broad claims about what Shakespeare was
doing, thinking, saying, designing. We cannot know what was in his head. We can
know what the play suggests, implies; what characters say. Avoid claims to the bard’s
head.
MICRO:
(check or “x” marks mean there is something incorrect in the line)
See also Richard Lanham, Revising Prose. The Bedford Handbook is required.
1) Proofread
2) Apostrophes
3) Avoid deadwood and signposting
NO: It is interesting to note that due to the fact that Rich is underwater with another man, she
states that she wears “a grave and awkward mask.”
YES: The poet wears “a grave and awkward mask.”
4) Punctuation and integration of quotations.
5) Avoid the indefinite “ this.” This what?
6) Put citations at the end of a sentence. Avoid starting sentences with a subject like “Line
12 tells us. . .
Go deeper, not wider.
VIII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will
carry at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level. If the course has more than
one pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200
level), provide rationale for exception(s).
The 300-level gay and lesbian course serves at least two constituencies. It is a general
education course (maybe the only one) that provides the entire student body the opportunity to
study queer literature, film, culture, and theory, but it also challenges students to read and
analyze at levels that require some experience. It also fulfills a diversity requirement for the
English majors. For nonmajors any prerequisites are generally waived, because all materials in
the course do not require previous training. Because of the uniqueness and importance of the
course’s subject matter, the upper division designation allows cross-pollination between all
levels of students and all types of disciplines. The class attracts teacher training students,
business students, women and gender studies students, psychology majors, in addition to
English students—bringing together a divers cross-section of students at all levels of
development to study a subject that has become integral to the academy. As of yet UM does not
have a formal LGBT program; this course acts as a prototype and introduction to the field.
IX. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe learning outcomes related to the above criteria and learning goals.
GLBTIQ Film and Literature LIT 378L
Spring 2013
TTh 12:10-2:30 JRH 205
Casey Charles, 243-2762
Casey.charles@mso.umt.edu
Office: 216 LA; Hours: 10-2 Friday and by appointment
Description:
Film has become a crucial medium for the dissemination of queer culture. It serves as a kind of
cultural ambassador that explores the ways in which heterosexuality is intricately linked to its homo
binary. In order to study the adaptation of these literary works into film, different discourses come
into play—queer theory, film studies (including adaptation theory) and of course close reading
(including what we might call close watching). So we will study how film cuts, adds to, changes,
interprets, updates, and revamps its literary sources, whether plays, novels, nonfiction, or poetry.
Debunking the myth of fidelity will lead us to understand filmmaking as its own art form—not
necessarily tied to its source in any prescriptive way. The director (and all his/her creative
participants—from cinematographer to actor) is arguably a reader of sources—an interpreter.
S/he may follow the source strictly or riff off an image or predominant theme s/he sees working
in the text. We will try to discover how the film interacts with its source both broadly in terms of
narrative but more specifically in terms of how shots and edits reveal the filmmaker’s “take” on the
textual source.
In this permutation of the gay and lesbian studies course, I am unleashing students to work on a
longer project that involves a film, a director, a set of versions of a story or biography—or just an
in-depth look at one adaptation. For example, a student might want to discuss representations of
sex in Night Watch in relation to other Sarah Water’s films and novels, or a student might analyze
film representations of Wilde’s trials. Another student may study A Single Man from the
perspective of Tom Ford as designer turned filmmaker. These longer research papers will require a
focused topic and must include close reading of text and film. In conference and in class, through
the abstract and rough draft, we will work to perfect these essays.
Films:
Celluloid Closet (1995 dir. Epstein) based on the late Vita Russo’s book (1981)
Children’s Hour (1961 dir. Wyler) originally filmed as These Three (1936)
Wilde (1997) earlier films Oscar Wilde (1936) and The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
Importance of Being Earnest (1952), remade (2002)
Hunger (1983) with David Bowie; Styria (June 2013, Kickstarter trailer)
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984 dir. Epstein)
Milk (2008 dir. Van Sant)
Night Watch (2011 BBC adaptation)
Single Man (2009 dir. Tom Ford)
My Own Private Idaho (1991 dir. Van Sant) with River Phoenix
Howl (2010 dir. Epstein) with James Franco
Doubt (2008) with Meryl Streep
M Butterfly (1993)
Bent (1997) with Mick Jagger
Books:
Hellman, The Children’s Hour (1934)
Mckenna, The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde (selections 1-10, 28-35, 157-68, 290-397)
Le Fanu, Carmilla (1872)
Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street (selections 1-64, 81-94, 211-339)
Waters, Night Watch (2006)
Isherwood, A Single Man (1964)
Shakespeare, Henry the Fourth, Part One (1596)
Ginsberg, Howl (City Lights 1956)
Hwang, M Butterfly (1988)
Shanley, Doubt (2005)
Sherman, Bent (1979)
Work:



Weekly quizzes are open-book but time-sensitive. Sometimes we will do threads instead,
sometimes write short in-class essays (30%)
Students will write a 15-20 page research essay. Rough drafts and conferences on your
topic are required (70%)
Attendance and participation: students are expected to come to class ready to ask and
answer questions. More than three unexcused absences during the semester may result in a
failing grade. Excellent participation will allow students with a grade point average on the
cusp to have their grade rounded upward.
Ground Rules:




I do not accept late papers unless the student contacts me with a reasonable excuse
before the beginning of the class on the day the paper is due.
There are no make-up quizzes.
Students must attend at least one conference with the teacher during the semester.
Students with disabilities will be accommodated.

Plagiarism (the stealing of another’s words or ideas) will result in a recommendation of
expulsion from the university. See the Student Conduct Code.
 http://connect.umt.edu/diversity/umallies/ This classroom is a safe space for diverse
populations and adheres to the principles of nondiscrimination based on ethnicity,
gender, and sexual orientation as set forth by UM Allies.
Outcomes:





Acquisition of skills in analyzing film, literature, and adaptation through close reading of
text.
Familiarity with the discourse of film studies, including film terminology and some theory
Working knowledge of the central tenets of queer theory
Production of writing that demonstrates the ability to create coherent arguments about film
and literature.
An ability to structure and develop a research paper.
Prerequisite: LIT 300 or consent of the instructor
Key Dates:
http://events.umt.edu/?calendar_id=27&upcoming=upcoming&
Schedule: (subject to change):
Week One:
1/29
1/31
Introduction
Queer Theory; Celluloid Closet
Week Two:
2/5
2/7
Adaptation; Celluloid Closet
Children’s Hour
Week Three:
2/12
2/14
Children’s Hour
Wilde
Week Four:
2/19
2/21
Wilde
Wilde
Week Five:
2/26
2/28
Carmilla and Hunger
Carmilla and Hunger
Prospectus
Week Six:
3/5
3/7
Mayor of Castro Street; Times of Harvey Milk
Milk
Week Seven:
3/12
3/14
Milk
Night Watch
Peer Review
Week Eight:
3/19
3/21
Night Watch
Night Watch
Conference
Week Nine:
3/26
3/28
Single Man
Single Man
Conference
Spring Break: 4/1-4/5
Week Ten:
4/9
4/11
Henry IV Part One (Acts 1-3); My Own Private Idaho
Henry IV Part One (Acts 4-5); My Own Private Idaho
Week Eleven:
4/16
4/18
Howl
Howl
Week Twelve
4/23
4/25
Doubt
Doubt
Week Thirteen
4/30
5/2
M Butterfly
M Butterfly
Week Fourteen
5/7
5/9
Bent
Bent
Finals Week
Rough Draft
5/1-5/17
5/14 NOON:
Final Essay Due
Another version of the course under a previous numbering:
ENLT 372.01A/WS 372.01B GAY AND LESBIAN LITERATURE:
THE NEW QUEER CULTURE
CRN: ENLT 34336/WS 34337
Spring, 2008 TuTh 12:40-2:00 LA 205
Casey Charles, LA 133E, casey.charles@mso.umt.edu
(406) 243-2762
ERES (Electronic Reserve) Password: queer
Office Hours: MW 11-1; TuTh 2:30-4, and by appointment
Course Description:
This course examines contemporary works—novels, short stories, film, drama, a
graphic novel, memoir, poetry—that concern themselves with the variety of GLBTIQ positions
in the new millennium. To understand what those positions stand for and how they function
within a heteronormative culture, we will turn to queer theory, both Donald Hall’s book and
other essays on reserve. Most of the books we read will provide a critique of mainstream social
and political paradigms that both substantiate certain approved forms of desire and erase those
forms that fall outside the accepted advertising (or dominant discourse [think ideology]). So we
have to become familiar with both the important distinctions within the queer world between
trans, bi, homo, and queer, for example, but also understand how those distinctions function or
do not function in a larger world that insists that we don’t ask and don’t tell or that we
accommodate spouses and not partners, or that we draw the line on hate crimes with the
proposed addition of sexual orientation to those laws.
On the other hand, many of our readings celebrate the absolutely fabulous world of
alternative forms of love-making—from lesbian detectives to high-country campouts. As
characters and readers alike struggle with the benefits and burdens of identity politics, they and
we carve out places for ourselves along a continuum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
intersex positions that both do and do not fit. In those “intersextions,” queer and queer friendly
subjects discover how the dividing practices of science, language, politics, and psychology (to
name a few) attempt to inform us even as we resist the imposition of such structures. Can the
pervert be subversive, or must w/s/he give up and go to Homo Depot?
Texts:
Bechdel, Fun Home: A Tragicomic
Cunningham, Flesh and Blood
Eugenides, Middlesex
Revoyr, Southland
O’Neil, At Swim, Two Boys
Dietz, Lonely Planet
Mann, Execution of Justice in Testimonies
Schulman, The Child
Alexie, “Toughest Indian” (on reserve)
Burroughs, from Magical Thinking (on reserve)
Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain”
Hall, Queer Theories
Sedgwick, Epistemology of the Closet (selection) (on reserve)
Butler, “Imitation and Gender Insubordination” (on reserve)
Berlant and Warner, “Sex in Public” (on reserve)
Halberstam, In a Queer Time and Place (selections on reserve)
Poems by Powell, Jane Miller, etc. (handout)
Films: (on reserve)
Brokeback Mountain
Bent
Boys Don’t Cry
The Brandon Teena Story
The Times of Harvey Milk
Assignments and Grades
The prerequisite for this class is ENLT 301 or consent of the instructor. You can get in without
301, but you have to be ready to read and write. This is an upper-division W course. Check
with me if you don’t have 301 under your belt.
The instructor promises to accommodate all students with disabilities in this class in accordance
with university policy and existing law.
Grades:
Two-thirds (66%) of the grade comes from the following writing assignments:
1) 5-7 page essay, which will be revised. The two grades are averaged.
2) 10-12 page final essay. This essay counts twice as much as the 5-7 pager.
One-third (33%) of the grade comes from the following:
1) weekly reading quizzes
2) 1-2 page response papers (theoretically informed close readings)
3) threaded discussions (on line)
4) your queery (a short piece about you and something totally q)
5) participation and attendance
Ground Rules:
1) I don’t take late papers unless I am contacted before the beginning of class with a
reasonable excuse.
2) Expect at least one conference with the professor during the semester (come prepared).
3) More than three unexcused absences may result in a failing grade.
4) Read actively (with a pink highlighter). All quizzes are open-book.
5) Come to class with the text.
6) Make sure you have a writing handbook.
7) Feel free to contact me at any time about the class or your grade.
8) Make a friend whom you can contact to get assignments (which tend to change).
9) There will be no final exam in this class.
Goals:
1 Exposure to the GLBTIQ concepts and views.
2) Ability to apply those concepts to a variety of genres, including film, memoir, novel,
short story, poetry, and drama.
3) Ability to build an argument based on evidence gathered through close-reading of a
queer text.
4) Ability to formulate a thesis and develop it in an essay about a work within the new
queer culture.
5) Understanding of the current cultural, social, political, ethical intersection between
marginalized and mainstream sexualities.
The Sched: (subject to change at the drop of a wrist)
1/22 Intro and Colbert
1/24 Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
1/29 Hall 1-18; Bechdel
1/31 No Class
2/5 Cunningham, Flesh and Blood; Hall 21-47
2/7 Flesh
2/12 Flesh; Hall 48-81 Lincoln’s Birthday (Bunking up in the log cabin)
2/14 Poetry (handout); Hall 82-111
2/19 Brokeback
2/21 Middlesex
2/26 Middlesex; Butler, “Imitation”
2/28 Middlesex
3/4 Middlesex; Halberstam FIRST ESSAY
(last day to add/drop or change grading option without petition)
3/6 Boys Don’t Cry; Bent
3/11 Southland
3/18 Southland
3/20 Southland
March 24-28 Spring Break
4/1 At Swim; Sedgwick
4/3 At Swim REVISION
4/8 At Swim
4/10 The Child
4/15 The Child; Berlant and Warner
4/17 Execution
4/22 Execution; Harvey Milk
4/24 Dietz, Lonely Planet
4/29 Alexie, “Indian” Draft of Final Essay Due
5/1 Burroughs
5/7 FINAL PAPER DUE at noon
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and
corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.