Queer & Trans Erotic Archives
CHUM 361
Spring 2022 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 361 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory Certificate, Queer Studies |
Is it possible to capture and archive ephemeral, flickering pleasures? This course addresses this question by problematizing the relationship between embodied pleasures and affective memories on the one hand and historical analyses on the other. Based on Derrida's critique of archives' selective preservation mechanisms and reification of normative narratives, queer studies scholars have tried to create their own "counter-archives," often by means of an alternative reading of conventional archives. First, participants will discuss the ethics of reenactments and appropriations of archived desires, analyzing specific case studies that will be an entry point into broader issues related to the scholar's involvement in the voyeurism of the archive. Second, participants will discuss how a focus on queer cultures leads to a rethinking of what constitutes archival material, expanding this definition to include erotica and porn, feelings, ephemera, performances, and mass media. Course readings will also reveal the artificiality of the established boundaries between high and low culture, between authoritative knowledge and experiments with bodily pleasures. The course interrogates pornography's potential as a historical source that reveals non-normative fantasies. Participants will discuss the relationship between sexual fantasy and social reality, between representations of idealized boundless pleasure, and historical contexts of stigmatization, pathologization, and institutional violence. This will lead to debates on archival sexual activism and minoritized bodies in the archive, in order to fully grasp the contraposition between over-determination and queer utopianism. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CHUM |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
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Zeb Tortorici, Sins against Nature: Sex and Archives in Colonial New Spain. Duke, 2018.
Jennifer Tyburczy, Sex Museums: The Politics and Performance of Display. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2016.
Porn Archives, edited by Tim Dean, Steven Ruszczycky, and David Squires. Duke, 2015.
Justin Spring, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, And Sexual Renegade. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.
Thomas Waugh, Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Eroticism in Photography and Film from the Beginnings to Stonewall. Columbia Univ. Press, 1996.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Assignments:
1) Participation in class. A demonstrated thoughtful reading of the assigned books and articles and willingness to discuss your points of view on these works¿ contributions with your peers, are the main requisites for this class. For each seminar meeting, you will submit a discussion question the day before the meeting by 3pm. 20%
2) Participants will write three response papers based on the assigned weekly readings (1-2 pages). These are an opportunity to practice your analytical skills. Please send your essays to me as an e-mail attachment by 3pm on the day before the relevant class. This will help me to set the agenda for discussion. 20%
3) Participants will do an oral presentation on an archival repository or research project, either individually or in groups. 20%
4) Participants will write a final paper (12-14 pages). You can either a) write an essay analyzing how different authors approach similar issues or b) use primary sources to make an original contribution to an existing scholarly debate. In either case, we will meet before to discuss your topic and sources. By mid-semester, you should send a one-page prospectus to me as an e-mail attachment, including a clear description of the topic and a tentative bibliography. 40% |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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