Independent Study LGBT Literature:
This class will be a rough survey of some works with LGBT authors, characters, or themes. It begins in
the nineteenth century with Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde, and moves forward into the early 21st
century. It includes a mix of genres: poetry, drama, fiction and film. It intentionally includes a mixture
of “canonical works,” (i.e. those normally studied in university classrooms) and works that are more
representative of popular culture.
The class will look at how LGBT lives are represented in various literary genres, how accurate those
portrayals are (or were), how they draw from, perpetuate, or challenge stereotypes of LGBT behavior,
and how the representations shift over time.
We will read/view the following works (or try to) during the course of the semester, and we will do so in
this order:
Walt Whitman: Song of Myself; “Once I Passed Through a Populous City”; “The Dalliance of the Eagles”;
“To a Stranger”; “I Saw in Louisiana A Life Oak Growing” (Poetry)
Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest (play)
Lillian Hellman: The Children’s Hour (play)
Del Shores: Sordid Lives (Film—this is waaaay out of historical sequence, but Del Shores will be visiting
NU, and we will and we will be invited to participate in some of the activities).
Radclyffe Hall: The Well of Loneliness (novel)
Vito Russo: Celluloid Closet (film)
Mart Crowley: The Boys in the Band (play)
Rita Mae Brown: Rubyfruit Jungle (novel)
Brian Katcher: Almost Perfect (novel)
Celine Sciamma: Tomboy (film)
In addition to the works above, I’d like each student in the class to sign up to do two reports on works
we will not otherwise cover. You will turn in a written report of about 1,000 words. It should open with
a brief synopsis of the work (about250 words), then should address the following questions: How does
this fit into the overall context of the class? What is the portrayal of LGBT persons? Is it overt or coded?
Is the work asking interesting questions (what are they)? Is it asking relevant questions (what are they)?
Does it (still) speak to a contemporary audience? This report should draw on some research, even if it is
only a quick internet search of the biography of the author and/or some reviews of the work in question
(document your research).
On the day your report is due, you will assume responsibility for teaching part of the class. You will give
a 10-15 minute presentation on the work your report covers. Since it takes about 10 minutes to read
1,000 words, one way to handle the report is simply to read your paper and then answer questions. If
your report is on a film, you might want to show one key scene.
The works for special reports are:
Robert Louis Stevenson: Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde (novel)
Aug 28______________________
Robert Anderson: Tea and Sympathy (play)
Sep 10_______________________
Tennessee Williams: Suddenly Last Summer (play—though
it is also a good film with Montgomery Clift,
Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn).
Sep 18_________________________
John Avnet: Fried Green Tomatoes: (Film, though it is based
on a fine novel by Fannie Flagg).
Sep 23___________________________
Kimberly Pierce: Boys Don’t Cry (Film, but very violent
and not for the faint of heart).
Oct 14__________________________
Rodrigo Garcia: Albert Nobbs (Film)
Oct21___________________________
Alain Berliner: Ma Vie En Rose (film)
Oct 30__________________________
Laurie Lynd: Breakfast with Scott (film)
Nov 8__________________________
Quiz Grade: You will have frequent quizzes on the reading assignments. These will be averaged at the
end of the semester to make one quiz grade.
Exams: You will have two exams during the semester. One will be a mid-term exam on Wednesday,
October 2, and it will be on all material to date. The second will be on Monday, November 18, and it will
be on all material since October 2. There will be a cumulative final exam.
Papers: You will do two special reports of 1,000 each. See description, above.
Participation: because this class is so small, you will be expected to participate actively. At the end of
the semester, I will assign a participation grade based upon my sense of how actively you have tried to
add to the value and content of the class.
Minimum submissions: no student will be allowed to pass the class who does not do both papers and
take all three exams.
Honor and Plagiarism: Don’t even think of cheating on a test or quiz, and do not plagiarize. Plagiarism
consists of borrowing the research, words or ideas of another author without giving credit, either
through formal documentation or through some other means. Any student who plagiarizes an
assignment will receive an automatic zero on it.