WGSS 404
Before We Were Queer: Gay and Lesbian Lives before 1990
Last Offered Spring 2015
Division II Exploring Diversity Initiative
Cross-listed COMP 402
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

Reclaimed by activists in the 1990s as an expression of defiance and pride, the word queer has come to be identified with a wide range of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities, as well as entire fields of intellectual theory, popular culture, and political engagement. The past 25 years of queer studies, media, and activism (1990-2015) have led to unprecedented visibility and great advances for many LGBT people, especially in North America and Western Europe: from breakthroughs in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, to victories for Gays in the Military, Employment Non-Discrimination, and Gay Marriage in 16 US states and another 16 countries around the world. For many, however, this new era of queer life during the past 2 decades has eclipsed the time before, when those who were pejoratively labeled as queer struggled with homophobic discrimination, isolation, and violence, by seeking one another out in major cities, specific neighborhoods, underground bars, and in the narrative spaces of novels and films. As a result, many young people born after 1990 are largely unaware of these struggles that predate their lives, the internet, and social media; and several LGBT leaders worry that this has left many 18-25 year olds with a false sense of security, a decreasing interest in political engagement, alarming new rates of sexually transmitted infections, and a growing disinterest in queer social spaces beyond the virtual. In this course, we will explore the literary, cinematic, and cultural history of gay and lesbian lives before the 1990s, and consider what has been gained and lost. Topics to include the early twentieth-century isolation of the closet, (1890s-1950s), the formation of clandestine gay and lesbian communities during and after World War II (1940s-60s), the Stonewall riots and the first decade of Gay Liberation (1969-1979), and the devastating losses and community responses to AIDS (1979-1995). For its critical engagement with cultural diversity, comparative investigation of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, and historical analysis of queer identities, this course fulfills the goals of the Exploring Diversity Initiative.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 16
Expected: 16
Class#: 4005
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: active participation, two short papers, an oral presentation, and a final paper
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis; not available for the fifth course option
Prerequisites: WGSS 101 or 202, or another 200-level or 300-level course in WGSS, COMP, HIST, ENGL, or AMST, or other courses focusing on gender and sexuality. Email Prof. Martin ([email protected]) to inquire
Enrollment Preferences: Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies and Comparative Literature majors, as well as History, English, and American Studies majors. Other sophomores, juniors, and seniors may email Prof Martin ([email protected]) and explain your interest in the course
Unit Notes: Senior seminar for WGSS listing only; is not a Senior seminar credit if taken under COMP
Distributions: Division II Exploring Diversity Initiative
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under COMP; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under WGSS
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
COMP 402 Division I WGSS 404 Division II

Class Grid

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