ENGLISH 248
Literature & Contemporary Life:
QUEER THEORY AND THE NOVEL
Fall 2012
Shawna Lipton, Instructor
Email: selipton@uwm.edu
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to Queer Theory alongside five novels by diverse authors. We will
develop an understanding of gender and sexuality that emphasizes shifting boundaries, ambivalences, and
cultural constructions that change depending on historical and cultural context. By thinking through the
relation between literature and queer studies, we will examine the connections between aesthetics and
politics, culture and society, story and life.
Course Readings
“Introduction” From Fear of a Queer Planet by Michael Warner
“How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay” by Eve Sedgwick
“Imitation and Gender Insubordination” by Judith Butler
“The Ethics of Reading: Close Encounters” by Jane Gallop
“Queer Thinking” by Alan Sinfield
Selection from The History of Sexuality Volume 1 by Michel Foucault
“The Mythic Mannish Lesbian” by Esther Newton
“Spoiled Identity” by Heather Love
“Even Stone Butches Get the Blues” by Judith Halberstam
Introduction to Queer Race by Ian Barnard
“Is the Rectum a Grave?” by Leo Bersani
“Queer and Then?” by Michael Warner
Bullybloggers on Failure and the Future of Queer Studies
Required Texts: (Available at the UWM Union Bookstore)
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness
James Baldwin Giovanni’s Room
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues
Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body
Assignments: 3 x 3-page papers (on texts read for class)—1/6 of the grade each. Take-Home Final
Exam—1/6 of the grade. Discussion Leader- 1/6 of the grade. Class Participation (attendance,
participation)—1/6 of the grade. Papers are due at the beginning of class—papers will be accepted in hard
copy only (12 pt. times new roman font, double spaced, standard margins, stapled) no late papers
accepted. Everyone must lead discussion during two class sessions.
For a detailed list of university policies see: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Schedule: 09/4-12/12
Introduction to Queer Theory
“Introduction” from Fear of a Queer Planet
“How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay”
“Imitation and Gender Insubordination”
Gallop
Dorian Gray 3-53 PAPER 1 DUE
Dorian Gray 53-105
Dorian Gray 105-153
Dorian Gray 153-184
Foucault
“Queer Thinking”
The Well of Loneliness 1-107
The Well of Loneliness 107-205
The Well of Loneliness 209-304
The Well of Loneliness 304-437
“The Mythic Mannish Lesbian”
“Spoiled Identity” PAPER 2 DUE
Queer Race
Giovanni’s Room
Giovanni’s Room
Giovanni’s Room
Bersani
Stone Butch Blues
Stone Butch Blues
Stone Butch Blues
“Even Stone Butches Get the Blues” PAPER 3 DUE
Written on the Body 9-111
Written on the Body 115- 139
Written on the Body 141-190
Final Discussion: The End of Queer Theory?
Final Exam Due in D2L Dropbox