Course Title: Queer Literature
Course Number: LA 325
Instructor Name: Dr. Shawna Lipton
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course focuses on the literary study of queer writers and their changing social,
political, and cultural contexts from the 1890s to today. The aim of this class is to
introduce you to some of the major critical debates in literary studies as well as in gender
and sexuality studies, as they apply to, and are illuminated by the study of modern LGBTQ
literature.
COURSE CONTENT
GRADING CRITERIA
Attendance and Active Participation Including Staged In-Class Readings 30%
Online Film Responses 10%
Close Reading Papers and Paper Revision 30%
Research Presentation (In-class or Online), handout, works cited, and class discussion
leadership for text/author of your choice in corresponding class discussion 20%
Research Paper with MLA Works Cited Page 10%
Detailed Description of Requirements
Attendance and Active Class Participation
I expect you to attend all classes and to be prepared by having read the assigned materials
ahead of time. Please bring discussion questions and passages you would like to read
aloud as a class every week.
Close Reading Papers
You will write one page close reading papers analyzing passages from each of our course
texts. These papers will not require outside research. Each paper is worth 5% of your final
grade.
Paper Revision
You will choose one of your close reading papers to revise based on my feedback and
resubmit it at the end of the course. Revised paper will be one-two pages long and worth
5%.
Revision Criteria:
•
You cannot simply change errors that I marked
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•
You must include your previous draft and my comments with your revision
•
You must go back to the text and work with it more closely
•
You must ask questions about feedback you don’t understand
Presentation and Class Leadership
OPTION A: An in-class oral presentation, plus accompanying hard copy outline as a
handout: bring enough copies for every student and for me.
OPTION B: an online post that provides all the information you would give us in an oral
presentation.
The latter option allows you to explore the online environment to provide links, images,
video, or other media in connection with your chosen text/topic/author. If you choose this
option, your online presentation needs to be ready and announced at least 24 hours
before our discussion of it in class, so that all students and I have a chance to look at and
read it in advance and can jump into discussion well-prepared.
For your presentation, pick a text of your choice from the syllabus. A sign-up sheet for
presentations will be available during the first week of classes. In your presentation (inclass or online), I expect you to:
•
Present on a topic related to the main text of the day including: cultural, social,
political, aesthetic etc. contexts, relevant publication or reception history of the text
itself, but please include only limited biographical information on the author. I will
provide suggestions for topics related to the course texts, or you may also choose
your own with my approval.
CLASS DISCUSSION LEADERSHIP. Independent of whether you choose Option A or
option B, class discussion leadership is part of your job on the day we are discussing your
chosen text in class. That means taking an especially active part in class discussion that
day, asking provocative questions, and bringing different strands of the conversation
together.
•
•
•
Make some general observations that have interested you about the text, and why.
Come up with three concrete and engaging questions about the text to jumpstart
class discussion. These questions should cover both close reading aspects (e.g. a
specific theme, character, symbolism, stylistic observation, etc.), and some relevant
context for this text within the larger course themes.
For the context questions, you could for example ask us to compare the text to
other texts or themes we’ve already discussed (how does this text possibly relate to
some of them, how does it echo or oppose them?), or ask us how a certain
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political, social, or cultural circumstance might influence our interpretation of the
text.
Research Report: The week after your research presentation you will turn in a 1500-word
write-up of your research topic with a Works Cited page in MLA format.
You must include SCHOLARLY sources. You may use books, scholarly articles, or
reputable websites (such as those created by universities and historical archives).
Staged Readings of Texts
Occasionally we will stage dramatic performances of excerpts from our course texts. You
will choose a passage of text and choose classmates to recite the text. You can present the
passage any way you like, the only requirement is that you do not alter or adapt the text
itself; you must present it exactly as it was written by the author.
Film Responses
You will post responses to the required films online on the class site. Detailed instructions
online.
EXPECTATIONS/POLICIES
Attendance Policy
Students will have two absences without additional penalty although they are responsible
for any work that is missed. The third absence will result in the lowering of an entire letter
grade from the computed final grade. A fourth absence will result in a final failing grade of
F. Missing 30 minutes of class period counts as an absence. Frequent tardiness will
accumulate to absences. You may not reschedule deadlines for assignments as a result of
an absence unless you speak to me BEFORE the assignment is due.
Printing and Photocopying
You must print copies of all required readings and bring them to class.
I do not accept copies of assignments by email.
Paper Formatting
Your papers will be typed, double-spaced, in a standard font, with no title page, in MLA
format.
For an MLA style guide see: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
No Screens Policy
Cell Phones and other electronic devices are not allowed in the classroom. All tech should
remain OUT OF SIGHT during class periods, and texting or checking your phone during
class time could result in being marked absent for the day.
Note: If you require a computer, iPad, or other technological device as a learning aide
please speak with me individually.
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No Scents Policy
Please do not wear chemical scents or fragrances in the classroom.
Other Accommodations
If you are uncomfortable speaking in front of the class you may substitute written
handouts, online postings, or multi-media components instead of an in-class presentation.
Please speak with me about your learning needs in advance and we will find an
accommodation that fulfills the course requirements.
MATERIALS
Required Texts: Please get these editions!
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oxford University Press (2008)
ISBN 978-0-19-953598-9
• James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room, Vintage Books (2013)
ISBN 978-0-345-80656-7
• Patricia Highsmith, The Price of Salt, Norton (2004)
ISBN 978-0-393-32599-7
• Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body, Vintage (1993)
ISBN 978-0-679-74447-4
• Eli Clare, Exile and Pride, Duke University Press (2015)
ISBN 978-0-8223-6031-5
Required Films: (On Reserve in the Library)
Brian Gilbert, Wilde
Todd Haynes, Velvet Goldmine
Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman, Forbidden Love
Todd Haynes, Carol
Required Articles:
PDF Files Available on Homeroom. (Must be printed or photocopied and brought to class)
COURSE SCHEDULE
Dates and information on the below calendar are subject to change. It is the student’s
responsibility to keep up with Homeroom updates, handouts and assignment sheets for
current information about this class.
09/01 Introduction to Queer Literature
(Plato’s Symposium, Shakespeare’s Sonnets)
09/08 Oscar Wilde 1-53
(French Symbolism, Walter Pater, Aestheticism, Decadence)
09/15 Oscar Wilde 53-124
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(Trials, “The Birth of Homosexuality”)
Supplementary readings: Ed Cohen, Alan Sinfield
09/22 Oscar Wilde 124-188 (and Introduction)
(Wilde, Velvet Goldmine)
Paper Due.
09/29 James Baldwin 1-71
“Why James Baldwin Still Matters”
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/04/why-james-baldwin-still-matters
(Expatriate writers)
10/06 James Baldwin 75-124
Supplementary reading: Leo Bersani
(Masculinity)
10/13 James Baldwin 124-169
Paper Due.
10/20 Patricia Highsmith 1-138
10/27 Patricia Highsmith 141-292
(Forbidden Love, Carol)
Paper Due.
11/03 Jeanette Winterson 1-70
(Palimpsest, Non-Binary Gender, Pansexuality/Bisexuality)
11/10 Jeanette Winterson 71-111
(Blazon)
11/17 Jeanette Winterson 115-190
Paper Due.
11/24 Thanksgiving (No Class)
12/01 Focus Week (No Class)
12/08 Eli Clare 1-76
(Disability, Crip Theory, Trans Identity)
Paper Due
12/15 Eli Clare 81-171
Paper Revisions Due.
Final Course Reflection.
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