Queer and Trans Lives

This course is an exploration of a broad range of queer issues relating to the lived experiences of sexual and gender minorities in the United States. Students examine major events in the histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer communities, with the primary goal of understanding the roles power and privilege play in constructing sexual and gender identities. Through memoirs, documentaries, short stories, and poetry, we consider how queer lives have been influenced by differences like race, class, and citizenship, as well as how the struggles of sexual minorities have shaped larger socio-political discourses on family, intimacy, law, and social change. Ideas engaged may include those of Gloria Anzaldúa, Judith Butler, Franny Choi, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Marsha P. Johnson, Jack Halberstam, Iván Monalisa Ojeda, Sylvia Rivera, Jess X Snow, and Joshua Whitehead.