GWS 395-01 - Advanced Special Topic: Queer Theory

4 credits (Fall)

This course surveys the complex and unusual body of thought that has been known since the early 1990s as “queer theory.” Students will explore what critics have meant by “queer,” and how this concept has been used to rethink questions of sex, identity, and social norms in contemporary life. This class will cover foundational texts as well as current debates, including recent work on temporality, affect, biopolitics, and the posthuman. Particular attention will be paid to how queer theory articulates not only with scholarly traditions, but also with activist struggles around the politics of sexualtiy, gender, race, capital, empire, and ability.

Prerequisite: GWS 249.
Instructor: Lewis