WMGS 6B: Sexuality and Queer StudiesInstructor: V Varun Chaudhry Prerequisites: None. May not be taken for credit by students who took SQS 6b in prior years. Course Description: This course will introduce students to the interdisciplinary field of sexuality and queer studies, examining the historical and ongoing development of the field as well as key themes and debates in the field. Some questions we will address include: what is sexuality? What is queerness? Why should we study these categories in academic scholarship? How have gay, queer, and transgender communities challenged mainstream or normative notions of gender and sexuality? What can challenging gender and sexual norms - in scholarship and in our everyday lives - yield for our understandings not only of gender and sexuality, but of other intersecting categories such as race, ethnicity, class, culture, and nation? In this course, we will read foundational scholarship in the field of sexuality studies, including Audre Lorde's "Uses of the Erotic" and (excerpts from) Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality, as well as foundational and current scholarship in queer studies and queer theory, such as the work of Judith Butler, Cathy Cohen, and E. Patrick Johnson. Students will read these texts and complete regular discussion posts to digest the material and apply it to their own individual and communal experiences, complete a digital "journal" assignment to work through course material, and workshop and create a "guide" to queer studies. Session: Extended Day: Online Time: Asynchronous Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: 10-week Asynchronous Online for Summer 2023 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DJW, DL, HUM, SS Enrollment Limit: Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: $3,490 Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: Yes |
