Course Schedule

WeekAssigned Readings
1/27: Introductions + Definitions
“Gender Self-Determination,” Eric A. Stanley
“Queer,” Heather Love
“Transgender,” Cristan Williams
2/3: Queer & Feminist Curiosity
– “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action,” Audre Lorde
– “Sexual Orientation,” Sara Ahmed
– “Wayward: A Short Entry on the Possible,” Saidiya Hartman
2/10: Disidentifications & Transfeminist Killjoys
– Disidentifications, José Muñoz
– Transfeminist Kill/Joys, T. L. Cowan
2/17: Constructionism, Essentialism, Performances
– “Subjects of Sex/ Gender/ Desire,” Judith Butler
– “The Social Construction of Sexuality,” Mimi Marinucci
– “Thinking about Homosexuality,” Anne Fausto-Sterling
2/24: Queer/Trans/Intersex Movements
– “Transgender History in the United States and Places That Matter” Susan Stryker
– “Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come,” Leslie Feinberg
– Optional: Happy Birthday, Marsha! (Dir. Sasha Wortzel, Tourmaline, 2018, 15min)

Histories, Herstories, Theirstories
– Butch/Fem and Sexual Courage,” Joan Nestle
– “Queens in Exile: The Forgotten Ones,” Sylvia Rivera
3/3:Intersectionality, Difference/Power, Queer of Color Critique
– “Notes toward a Politics of Location,” Adrienne Rich
– “Queer of Color Critique, Historical Materialism, and Canonical Sociology,” Roderick Ferguson
– “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to 3rd World Women Writers,” Gloria Anzaldúa
– “Ruminations on Lo Sucio as a Latino Queer Analytic,” Deborah R. Vargas
– Optional: A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde (Dir. Ada Gay Griffin, Michelle Parkerson, 1996, 90min)
3/10:Decolonial Feminisms
– “The Coloniality of Gender,” Maria Lugones
– “Uses of the Erotic,” Audre Lorde

SHORT REFLECTION ESSAY DUE 3/16
3/17:Capitalism, Neoliberalism, and Globalization
– “Queering the Economy,” in Queering Anarchism, Stephanie Grohmann

Borders, Nations, Control
– “Securitizing Gender: Identity, Biometrics, Transgender Bodies at the Airport,” Paisley Currah and Tara Mulqueen
– “Chapter 7: LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness,” in Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach, Thomas Lawrence Long; Christine Rodriguez; Marianne Snyder; and Ryan J. Watson
3/24:Transnational Activism
– “This Bridge Called the Internet: Black Lesbian Feminist Activism in Santo Domingo,” Rachel Afi Quinn
3/31:Empire & Politics of Solidarity
– “Citation and Censure: Pinkwashing and the Sexual Politics of Talking about Israel,” The Imperial University, Jasbir Puar
– “The Road from Antipinkwashing activism to the decolonization of Palestine,” Darwich, Lynn and Haneen Maikey, 2014. WSQ 42
4/7:Sex Work
– “Queering our Analysis of Sex Work: Laying Capitalism Bare,” in Queering Anarchism, C. B. Darling
– Optional: Shakedown (Dir. Leilah Weinraub, 2018, 70min)

SHORT ARCHIVE PROJECT DUE 4/11
SPRING RECESS:4/12 – 4/20
4/21:Media Representation
– Watch: Tongues Untied (Dir. Marlon Riggs, 1989, 59min)

Queer & Feminist Publishing, Collectives, Manifestos
– Combahee River Collective Statement
– Third World Gay Revolution
– Femme Shark Communique
– “Transfeminist Manifesto,” Emi Koyama
– “Is Sci-Fi Political: Our Intentions,” Metropolarity
4/28:Care & Queer Temporalities
– “The Value of Silence,” David L. Eng
– “Sick Woman Theory,” Johanna Hedva

**PLEASE EMAIL YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION TOPIC TO ME BY 5/2
5/5:Queer & Feminist Methodology
– “Coastal Reflections: A Plática on Embodied Knowledge and Schooling Wounds,” Andrea Nikté Juárez Mendoza and Gladys Yacely Aponte
– “The Evidence of Felt Intuition: Minority Experience, Everyday Life, and Critical Speculative Knowledge”, Philip Brian Harper in Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology
5/12:Abolition, Utopias, Futures
– “Feeling Utopia,” José Muñoz
– “Tearing Down the Walls: Queerness, Anarchism, and the
Prison Industrial Complex,” in Queering Anarchism, Jason Lyndon
5/19:FINAL PRESENTATIONS VIA ZOOM (to be scheduled in May)

Additional Recommended Reading: