Queer Theory: Key Texts - Einzelansicht

Nowadays, the term ”queer” is often regarded as referring to an identity or used as an umbrella term for a variety of identities, but queer theory initially set out as a critique of identity and identity politics. Emerging in the USA in the 1990s, it is rooted in academic disciplines, such as gay and lesbian studies and women’s and feminist studies, on the one hand, and political activism, such as the politics of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), on the other. In our seminar, we will read seminal texts that shaped queer studies. Starting with Michel Foucault, whose History of Sexuality led to a paradigm shift in understanding homosexuality, we will discuss how Queer Theory conceptualizes sexuality as a social construction. Other writers we will engage with include Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Gayle Rubin, Jack Halberstam, Samuel R. Delany and José Esteban Muñoz. Building on their texts, we will discuss queer temporalities, heteronormativity, and ask how queerness intersects with race, gender, and disability.

Active participation, regular attendance, short written assignment, final exam