Research-oriented and designed for upper-division English majors. Intensive examination of critical approaches, literary theory, or a special topic in literary and cultural studies. Topics vary from semester to semester. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the semester.

When do queer Latines emerge? When do they begin to describe themselves as queer? When do they begin to write about themselves—their desires, experiences, sense of who they are—for a larger, anonymous public? Another way to ask this is, how do queer Latines begin to write themselves into existence? We know that the modern use of gay or lesbian as an identity emerged in the early twentieth century. For queer Latines, it all began In the late 1970s, and it began when queer Chicanas first began to publish their writings where they explored the intersection of sexual desire, gender, race, and class. Their work has led to the flourishing of queer Latinx studies. Our discussion-based advanced seminar will address these questions through three approaches. (These three approaches will often intersect): 1) History: How have gender and sexuality evolved in relation to both power and desire? Power can be seen as a societal force that gives certain groups of people privilege and the status of “normal,” along the lines, for example, of gender, race, class, and color. But power can also play out in sexual fantasies where power is about control and desire. How have these evolved over time? (Content Warning: This is a good point to state that in this seminar we will discuss very sexually explicit topics and language. Sexuality has to do with both power and desire; therefore, at times, the language and images might be violent and very non-normative. It might be very graphic. Because everyone has a different relationship to these themes, what is triggering for one might not be for another. If these are difficult themes for you, we should discuss whether this is an appropriate seminar for you to take at this time. Please use the resources that help you and those listed at the end of this syllabus to take care of yourself.) 2) Theory: Theory is useful because it helps us look at something that seems so natural and uncomplicated and teaches us that it actually has rich complexity that we had previously ignored. When and why does sexuality become so central to our core sense of who we are? We will explore the history of introspection, of the idea that to “know yourself” (something that emerged in the West with Christianity) is the foundation of our modern sense of who we are. In other words, writing about ourselves is central to the creation of our identity. 3) Literature: When do we begin to see sexually non-normative Latines begin to write about their experiences? When do we see some of the earliest queer characters in Latine literature? How is non-normative sexuality described? Is it an identity where they say, “I am lesbian/gay/bi/etc.”? Or is it more of a sensual experience that they enjoy very much, something like preferences but that is not related to identity? This class satisfies the "Literatures in English" requirement for the English major.

Requisites

• English 100 is prerequisite to English 190.

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