Courses > 2013 Spring

Electives

CINE 326 - Inventing Transgender

GSWS 326
401 | T 1:30-4:30pm | FBH 222

This seminar surveys major themes in the emerging and interdisciplinary field of Transgender Studies. We begin by mapping its development through, and divergence from, feminist and queer theory. Making connections to literature, biopolitics, sexology, psychoanalysis and disability studies, we will explore the potential of trans theory for interdisciplinary humanities work. We will animate the prefix “trans—” to think with and across keywords, modifying and enhancing our understanding of the trans-national, trans-racial, trans-historical, and even trans-animal. At the same time we will engage social justice movements for gender liberation and connect everyday formations of gender to institutional constraints on subjectivity, working to move from a study of identity into a realization of politics. The readings reflect a range of disciplinary voices, including diverse forms of scholarship like memoir and manifesto. The syllabus privileges trans theorists, artists and activists so that students can appreciate the expanding canon of Transgender Studies. Our focus on trans voices and performance will also allow us to examine the role of self-representation in intellectual and artistic production. A series of performances and artist talks will be sponsored in collaboration with the class, allowing us to think with practitioners about diverse expressions of gender self-determination.