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CS92PROD
Theories and Fiction of Androgyny
COL 251
Spring 2008
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: ENGL 255, FGSS 248

The dream of a unique, complete being who is both male and female has a long history in the western tradition. Moving from Plato to contemporary fiction we will look at representations and theories of androgyny in literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis and feminist theory, asking how and why one might imagine moving beyond the limitations of a single sex and who or what those fantasies serve. What is it about sex/gender that gives rise to its imagined transcendence? What other relations (of power, culture, nation) may be implicated in the representation of sexual difference and its overthrow? Is it possible to move outside of one's gender or is gender designation itself flawed? In asking these questions we will be especially concerned to see how sex/gender difference is constructed at different moments even, and especially, when it is presumed to be overcome. Authors will include: Plato, Ovid, Freud, Foucault, Balzac, Woolf, Cixous, Irigaray and Hwang.

Essential Capabilities: Speaking, Writing
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA COL
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: (FGSS)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on DEC-08-2024
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