ENGL 341 American Genders, American Sexualities (Not offered 1999-2000; to be offered 2000-2001)

This course investigates how sexual identities, desires, and acts are represented and reproduced in American literary and popular culture. Focusing on two culturally rich periods-roughly 1880-1940 (when the terms "homosexual" and "heterosexual" came to connote discrete sexual identities), and the contemporary context of the "postmodern" 1980s and 1990s-we will explore what it means to read and theorize "queerly." Among the questions we will ask: What counts as "sex" or "sexual identity" in a text? Are there definably lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer writing styles or cultural practices? What does sexuality have to do with gender? How are sexual subjectivities intertwined with race, ethnicity, class, and other identities and identifications? And why has "queerness" proven to be such a powerful and sometimes powerfully-contested concept? We will also explore what impact particular historical events, such as the rise of sexology, the Harlem Renaissance, and the AIDS pandemic have had on gay/lesbian cultural production. Readings may include works by Freud, Foucault, Stein, Johnson, Fitzgerald, Allison, Moraga, Rich, and Riggs. Requirements: regular journal entries, two short papers, and one longer final paper. Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150 (formerly 103). (Criticism)