ENGL 446 - Gay and Lesbian Literature

Credit(s): 4
Lecture: 4
Non-Lecture: 0
This course examines twentieth-century Anglo- American lesbian and gay literature and culture. We will explore a range of representational practices against the emergence of a modern homosexual subculture and identity with special attention to, for instance, social constructions of gender and sexuality, feminism, class, ethnicity, and race. Our reading will be informed by a discussion of key concepts (such as the closet, coming out, butch/femme, cross-dressing, and camp), queer theory (Foucault and Jagose, for example) and historical turning-points (such as the trial of Oscar Wilde, the ban on Hall’s novel, Stonewall, and AIDS).

Prerequisite(s): ENGL 203.