Training in writing expository prose. Instruction in expository writing in conjunction with reading literature. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

From hermaphroditic sea sponges to the lifelong same-sex mating observed in penguins, over 1,000 species of animal display sexual or courtship behavior that we might describe as “queer”--to say nothing of the sexual fantasias of the plant and fungal kingdoms. If organic matter defies contemporary Western understandings of sexuality and gender, why do so many debates in America about human queerness still turn on what we believe to be “natural” or “unnatural”? This course takes this question and brings it a step further: What about the “nature” of queerness do we stand to learn from the “queerness” of nature? And as we explore the tension between the “natural” and the “artificial,” what do we stand to learn about our natural humanity through the artifice of art? In this course, students will explore the histories of Western queer theory, LGBT aesthetics, and sexuality- and gender-based activism through their engagements with ecological thought and the natural environment. Challenging any simple categorization of things as “natural” or “unnatural,” students will develop a set of analytical and rhetorical skills to understand how contemporary practices of queerness intersect with–or undermine–the tenets of environmental activism, and to argue for fruitful collaborations between these fields. By honing close-reading skills--paying attention to the most purportedly “natural” and unnoticed areas of a text as exactly the site of fierce contention--students will leverage careful attention to engage questions about desire, human/non-human binaries, futurity, and the fraught connections between queerness, genocide, and imperialism. This will be a writing-heavy, but hopefully less reading-heavy, course. This course will follow a rhythm of short response papers as well as two more substantial projects. Anonymized student writing will be brought to the class to discuss what elements work well and which could use more attention; all writing submitted for this class will be considered fair game for discussion in class, unless a student indicates otherwise. During this course, students will develop their capacity to: Close-read texts Construct and defend an original argument Adapt argumentation for academic and public audiences Revise written work Provide constructive feedback on peers’ writing (and their own)

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills