English 248, Sec. 003
Literature and Contemporary Life:
Introduction to Gay and Lesbian Studies
T, R; 2:05-3:20 p.m.
Instructor: Jeff King

This course will provide an overview of some of the central issues in the emerging fields of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, with readings selected from historical documents, contemporary histories of sexuality, anthropology, psychology, political science, as well as discussions from literature, film, and popular culture. We will proceed historically, touching on issues central to various periods and cultures. In the first quarter of the course we will consider non-heterosexual sexualities in an international frame from ancient Greece up to the Twentieth Century. The second quarter will focus on the first seventy years of the Twentieth Century in Europe (primarily Britain, Germany, and France) and the U.S. The last half of the course will be concerned with post-Stonewall (post-1969) discussions of non-heterosexual sexualities, primarily in Britain and the U.S. In each of these periods, we will divide most of our time equally between lesbian and gay issues; bisexual and transgender issues will mostly arise in the last half of the class, although not exclusively. This course is a requirement for students seeking a certificate in Gay and Lesbian Studies. It is, however, open to any and all interested students.

Fifteen-Week Subject Breakdown:

1) The Ancient World and theories of "The History of Sexuality"
2) Preindustrial Societies
3) The Third Sex, Urnings, Inverts, and the "Invention" of the Homosexual
4) Friends and/or Lovers in Nineteenth Century Britain and America
5) Weimar and Nazi Germany
6) Britain, France, and the U.S. in the Early Twentieth Century
7) The U.S. in the 1950s and 60s: The Mattachine Society and One
8) The U.S. in the 1950s and 60s: The Daughters of Bilitis and Butch-Fem Relationships
9) Stonewall and Gay Liberation
10) Lesbian-Feminism and Responses to it
11) Radical Sex: Celebration and Critique (lesbian and gay S/M, public sex, promiscuity)
12) Race, Sexuality, and The Civil Rights Movement
13) AIDS
14) Identity Politics and The Birth of "The Queer"
15) Bisexuality and Transsexualism

Required Reading:

Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus, and George Chauncy, Jr., eds. Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. New York and London: Meridian, 1989.
A Course Reader (available at Clark Graphics)
Each student will also choose one book from a list of suggested texts.

Course Requirements:

Ten short responses to the readings, a midterm exam, and a final paper (7- 1 0 pp.) Regular attendance and completion of all assigned reading on time is also expected. No Incompletes. No late assignments.