You Betta Work: The Black Queer ‘90s

Catalog description

From films like Set It Off (1996) and B.A.P.S. (1997) to RuPaul and the thumping beats of Frankie Knuckles and Missy Elliott, and from Tracey Chapman’s “Fast Car” to the performance artist Vaginal Davis’ “terrorist drag” to the experimental films of Marlon Riggs and other works by Black queer poets and writers like Cheryl Clarke and Essex Hemphill, the long 1990s was a period rich in Black creativity across popular music, DJ culture, video, literature and performance. This seminar offers an exploration of “the Black queer ‘90s,” with a focus on Black queer writers exploring themes of Blackness and queerness. We will also explore how Black queerness shaped mainstream popular culture. Attention will also be paid to how these creative practices were marked by the HIV/AIDS crisis and increased homophobia and violence against Black queer people.