Course Outline for English 31
Introduction to Queer Literature

Effective: Fall 2022
SLO Rev: 11/07/2021
Catalog Description:

ENGL 31 - Introduction to Queer Literature

3.00 Units

Introduction to novels, poems, plays, and essays about queer people, i.e., members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning) community. Analysis of this literature in the context of the LGBTQ social and political movements of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and evolving societal attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. Themes include coming out, developing a sense of queer pride and community, combating discrimination and anti-queer violence, maintaining family ties with sometimes supportive, sometimes hostile relatives, surviving the nearly universal queer childhood experience of bullying, struggling against internalized homophobia/transphobia and reductive stereotypes, understanding the intersection of sexuality, gender identity, and other identities, and sustaining queer relationships in a heteronormative society.
1501.00 - English
Letter Grade Only
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. analyze literary works by LGBT writers in the context of the prevailing societal attitudes to homosexuality and gender identity at the times the works were written;
  2. analyze LGBT literary works in the context of concurrent social and political movements for LGBT rights and recognition;
  3. identify and define literary terms—such as point of view, plot, character, style, tone, irony, simile, metaphor, allusion, and symbol—and apply these terms to literary works by LGBT writers;
  4. evaluate the fairness of critical responses to LGBT writers.
Course Content:
  1. Critical reading of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) literary works, including poetry, drama, essays, short stories, and novels with a focus on 
    1. their cultural, historical, and political context including:
      1.  information on same-sex relationships and gender variance in the ancient world (classical Greece and Rome, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas);
      2. the emergence in late 19th Century Europe of theorists of homosexuality, such as John Addington Symmonds and Magnus Hirschfeld;
      3. the flourishing queer subculture in Berlin between the world wars;
      4. the mid-20th Century homophile movement in the United States;
      5. the Stonewall Riots and the gay liberation movement that followed;
      6. the outsized leadership role that trans women of color played in the early days of the queer movment, including in the Stonewall Riots;
      7. the AIDS crisis and AIDS activism;
      8. the eventual rise of queer people as a political force in the United States and other parts of the world.
    2. their depiction of common queer experiences, such as: 
      1. coming out; 
      2. developing a sense of queer pride and community; 
      3. combating discrimination and anti-queer violence; 
      4. maintaining family ties with sometimes supportive; sometimes hostile relatives; 
      5. surviving the nearly universal queer childhood experience of bullying; 
      6. struggling against internalized homophobia and transphobia and reductive stereotypes; 
      7. understanding the intersection of sexuality, gender identity, and other identities, including race and ethnicity;
      8. addressing transphobia in gay and lesbian communities; 
      9. sustaining queer relationships in a heteronormative society.
    3. their formal literary elements such as: 
      1. narration; 
      2. point of view; 
      3. plot;
      4. characterization; 
      5. theme;
      6. irony; 
      7. allusions; 
      8. symbolism; 
      9. figurative language;
    4. their reception by literary critics including: 
      1. examination of homophobic and transphobic reactions from mainstream straight and cisgender critics; 
      2. analysis by feminist critics and queer theorists.
  2. Supplemental readings giving historical, cultural and critical contexts for the works studied, including information about LGBTQ social and political movements
  3. Films, videos, websites, and other media that provide information about: 
    1. LGBTQ social and political movements;
    2. experience of being LGBTQ at various points in history;
    3. evolving societal attitudes toward homosexuality and LGBTQ communities.
 

 

Methods of Instruction:
  1. Lecture/Discussion
  2. Case Study
  3. Presentation
  4. Presentation of audio-visual materials
  5. Guest speakers
  6. Field Trips
  7. Distance Education
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. Write an essay analyzing the depiction of the intersectional identities of trans and nonbinary people of color in the poetry of Cameron Awkward-Rich, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, and Danez Smith.
  2. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the ways in which the lead characters in James Baldwin’s "Giovanni’s Room" and Patricia Highsmith’s "The Price of Salt" respond to the homophobia of the dominant heterosexual culture in the 1950s.
  3. Write an essay analyzing the symbolism in James Baldwin’s "Giovanni’s Room."
  4. Write an essay analyzing the structure of E.M. Forster’s "Maurice." How does the conception of homosexuality presented in the first half of the novel differ from the conception of homosexuality presented in the second half of the novel?
  5. Both "The Lost Language of Cranes" by David Leavitt and "Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel depict relationships between young gay people and closeted gay parents. Write an essay in which you reflect on the light that these works shed on the pre- and post-Stonewall experiences of homosexuality.
  6. Working in groups, choose a scene from "Angels in America" and present it to the class. Then lead a class discussion of the scene you have chosen. Come up with at least two discussion questions designed to get your classmates talking about what you think is significant or interesting about the scene.
  1. Papers
  2. Class Participation
  3. Group Projects
  4. Oral Presentation
  5. Final Examination
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Student demonstrates ability to analyze class texts in terms of such literary components as plot, character, tone, style, narrative voice, and figurative language
  2. Student recognizes the diversity of the works while comparing their treatment of common themes
  3. Students will analyze works of LGBTQ literature in relation to their historical contexts, and with particular attention to the thematic meaning(s) imparted to readers
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Herring, S. ed. (2015). Cambridge Companions to Gay and Lesbian Literature Cambridge University Press .
  2. Bosman, E (2008). Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Literature: A Genre Guide Libraries Unlimited .
  3. Forster, E.M. (2005). Maurice Norton.
  4. Hall, Radclyffe (1990). The Well of Loneliness Anchor.
  5. Highsmith, Patricia (2001). The Price of Salt Naiad.
  6. Baldwin, James (2000). Giovanni's Room Delta.
  7. Brown, Rita Mae (1983). Rubyfruit Jungle Bantam.
  8. Kushner, Tony (2003). Angels in America Theatre Communications Group.
  9. Bechdel, Alison (2007). Fun Home Mariner.
  10. Hollinghurst, Alan (2005). The Line of Beauty Bloomsbury USA.
  11. Sáenz, Benjamin Alire (2014). Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Simon and Schuster.
  12. Vuong, Ocean (2021). On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Penguin.
  13. de Robertis, Carolina (2020). Cantoras Vintage.
  14. Smith, Danez (2017). Don't Call Us Dead: Poems Graywolf.
  15. Awkward-Rich, Cameron (2016). Sympathetic Little Monster Ricochet Editions.
  16. Peters, Torrey (2021). Detransition, Baby: A Novel One World.
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:
Introduction to novels, poems, plays, and essays by and about queer people, i.e., members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning) community. Analysis of this literature in the context of the LGBTQ social and political movements of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries and evolving societal attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.
Discipline:
English*