Mar 29, 2024  
Catalogue 2013-2014 
    
Catalogue 2013-2014 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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ENGL 218 - Literature, Gender, and Sexuality

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)


This course considers matters of gender and sexuality in literary texts, criticism, and theory. The focus varies from year to year, and may include study of a historical period, literary movement, or genre; constructions of masculinity and femininity; sexual identities; or representations of gender in relation to race and class.

Topic for 2013/14a: Gay Male Narratives in America after 1945. An exploration of various narrative modes and genres through which modern gay male identity has both expressed and created itself. The first half of the course will focus on the evolution of the gay male literary novel, and may include works by Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, Christopher Isherwood, Andrew Holleran and Mark Merlis. For the second half of the course we will organize the class into affinity groups of four or five students who will investigate and present an aspect of gay narrative of their own choosing. Possibilities include: gay pulp fiction, gay porn narratives, the literature of AIDS, gay blogs, genre writing (science fiction, detective, slash, etc.), children’s and young adult literature, film adaptation and gay comics. Mr. Russell.

Prerequisite(s): open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors with one unit of 100-level work or by permission of the associate chair. Students applying for permission to elect 200-level work must present samples of their writing to the associate chair. Freshmen with AP credit may elect 200-level work after consultation with the department and with the permission of the instructor. First-year students who have completed ENGL 101  may elect 200-level work with permission of the instructor. Intermediate writing courses are not open to Freshmen.

Two 75-minute periods.



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