Spring 2021 - GSWS 331 D100
Queer Genders (4)
Class Number: 7198
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Wed, Fri, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby -
Exam Times + Location:
Apr 25, 2021
Sun, 5:00–5:00 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Nadine Boulay
nboulay@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
30 units, including three unist in GSWS. Students who have taken GDST 301, or WS 301 Special Topics: Theorizing Queer Genders may not take this course for further credit.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Introduces students to current debates on gender identity and gender difference from the perspectives of queer subjects. Explores recent theoretical and cultural works on gender from queer, transgender, and feminist perspectives, while examining the challenges they pose to current understanding of sex, gender, sexuality, and the body.
COURSE DETAILS:
Drag performance- particularly as associated with drag queens- have historically been situated primarily in LGBTQ/queer and transgender communities and subcultures, appearing at times in the campy margins of popular culture. Yet ‘drag’ as an expression and theatrical performance of either deliberate or incidental gender transgression is remarkably common cross-culturally and in many historical periods, from the 17th century British stage, to Japanese Kabuki theatre; from the ‘pansy craze,’ to Black and Latinx ballroom culture in NYC. This course will explore the cultural and social histories of drag in its myriad forms in the U.S. and Canada from the early 20th century to present day, as it shifted from subcultural practice to mainstream phenomenon with the popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Throughout the course we will examine different iterations of drag performance within LGBTQ history; the different ways that drag and drag performers have operated in explicitly queer/transgender spaces, such as bars or nightclubs; and more recently as reality TV stars. We will engage with the burgeoning field of ‘Drag Studies,’ and read ethnographic accounts of drag cultures in many urban spaces. We will explore representations of drag performers/performances in literature (Our Lady of the Flowers), film (Pink Flamingos; Hedwig and the Angry Inch), and TV (Drag Race; Dragula). Students will explore the ways that different drag cultures have been mediated through experiences of race and racialization; poverty and class mobility; sexuality and gender difference. We will read accounts of drag cultures and performers as political revolutionaries and radicals within social movement organizing, including the Stonewall Riots, as well as early pride marches and protests. We will also consider the implications of mainstreaming and marketing certain representations of drag, and the impact that wide-spread visibility and popularity of drag queens has had both inside and outside LGBT/queer and transgender communities.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
For more detailed information please see the GSWS website: http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/undergraduate/courses/Educational_Goals.html
Grading
- Attendance and Participation: Attendance (12 weeks): 10% Online discussions: 5% 15%
- Reading and Discussion Group: 10%
- Short written assignments (3): 15%
- Creative/Research Project: 25%
- Take Home Exam: 35%
NOTES:
The course will be primarily asynchronous, with the lectures pre-recorded and all the materials available on Canvas, but have 1 hour of discussion time per week.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
All readings are available on Canvas unless otherwise noted. Some readings are available as e-books or PDF’s for download.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021
Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).