What is “Queer Lit”? What does it mean to represent sexual identity in literature? How do authors represent queerness in different ways through different genres? How does the definition of “queer” change for people? In this class, we will explore the genre of Queer Lit through two novels, a graphic memoir, and a play. We will consider how the themes of sexuality and sexual identity are expressed through imaginative works, and we will look to queer authors and characters to teach us about queerness.
Note: We will be watching a fabulous documentary called Paris is Burning that explores vogue-ing within Black and Latino drag culture.
Assignments: In this course, you will be required to write four (500-word) responses to/analyses of texts. In addition you will participate in online discussions of those pieces, and you will write two 1,000-word papers engaging with the themes and texts of the class.
Required texts:
Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson