Grade Distribution:

• Short Reflection Essay: 30%
• Short Archive Project: 25%
• Final Presentation of Research Topic: 45%

Short Reflection Essay

Due by Sunday, March 16th by 11:59PM EST via email

Overview:

You should select a text we have read in class so far this semester and write a short reflection including the following: a brief summary of the text and the author’s main arguments, why you think it may be significant to the field of queer, feminist, and gender studies, and how it either fits into your own research interests or has taught you something new.

If raising questions about the text, provide a context (1–2 sentences) for your inquiry. Ask yourself what the common thread and / or what the wider framework of the readings is. If we are addressing more than one author for the week, ask yourself what the authors’ shared concerns are (even if they are arguing different things). This will help you articulate the context within which you will pose your question.

In your reflection, you should attempt to address more than one reading. You can either pose a question in terms of comparing / contrasting points made by the authors (e.g. “Author A defines gender or sexual identity in this way, while author B defines it as that. How are these definitions different from each other and how do you evaluate their usefulness for your thinking about LGBTQ representation?”), or base it on shared arguments in the texts (e.g. “Both author A and B define sexual/gender identity this way. Considering that both ignore factor X in this debate, how sustainable is their definition?”).

You do not need to research any outside sources for this paper. Your paper should be no longer than two double-spaced pages, have one-inch margins all around, be 12-point Times New Roman font, and have a proper heading with your full name, my full name, the full course title and section, date, and a title. This essay will comprise 30% of your grade.

Short Archive Project

Due Friday, April 11th by 11:59PM EST on Group Site Discussion Forum

Overview:

You should browse an archive focused on queer and/or trans histories (such as Digital Transgender Archive, Lesbian Herstory Archives, QZAP – Zine Archive, and NYC Trans Oral History Project) and select an item to write a one-paragraph reflection on. You should describe something new you learned or why this archival item is of interest to you and share it out with your peers on the discussion forum on our group site. This short assignment will comprise 25% of your grade.

Final Presentation (via Zoom)

To be scheduled for the week of May 19th

Overview

You should research a queer issue or movement in a country or region of your choice. You can define “queer” in any way you want across the LGBTQQIA spectrum so long as it involves challenges to normative gender and sexuality (i.e., misgendering, bathroom politics, chosen families, nonbinary identities, biphobia, corrective rape, parenting, communes, etc.). Pick a topic that interests you about which you wish to know more. If you care about your topic, your essay will be easier for you to research and present. Your data should come from the library journals or databases. Your sources should have an author, journal title, volume, issue, and year. You also can use books and documentaries as supplemental sources. You must develop your own ideas and topics, follow your beliefs and passions, and strengthen your ideas with outside sources. You may pick any queer issue or movement to research so long as you three scholarly peer-reviewed articles, make your own arguments, and provide several reasons for your arguments during your presentation. Your presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes long and include a visual aid (such as Powerpoint, photo slideshow, or video). You should also provide a list of your cited sources in MLA format. The final presentation will comprise 45% of your grade.

Please send me your presentation topic via email by Friday, May 2nd.

Grading Checklist

• This project has a clear argumentative statement.
• This project is presented clearly in a visual presentation format, such as a Powerpoint, photo slideshow, or video.
• You should synthesize your central arguments and main ideas.You should focus on historical and critical commentary within the presentation.
• Every piece of information has a clear citation within the text. You have not plagiarized.
• Remember to include a proper presentation title.
• There is a Works Cited page that is formatted according to MLA rules.
• The presentation is no longer than 10 minutes.

For a book, the MLA citation is:

Brady, Evelyn et al. In the Footsteps of Anne: Stories of Republican Women Ex-Prisoners. Belfast: Shanway Press, 2011.

For an article in a book, the MLA citation is:

James, Joy. “Framing the Panther: Assata Shakur and Black Female Agency.” Want to Start a Revolution?: Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle. Ed. David F. Gore, Jeanne Theoharis, and Komozi Woodard. New York: New York University Press, 2009. 138-160.

For a journal article, the MLA citation is:

Butler, Judith. “Critique, Dissent, Disciplinarity.” Critical Inquiry. 35.4. (Summer 2009): 773-795.

For a website, the MLA citation is:

Goodman, Amy. “Deportations Continue Despite Review of Immigrants with Family Ties.” Democracy Now!