Topics: Trans Literature

Catalog description

This course examines the formal significance of gender transition, cross-gender identification, androgyny , "gender-f"cking," and intersex embodiment in canonical and emergent Anglophone literature, as well as the impact of these on the historical construction of trans identity. We will be approaching "trans" as an umbrella term that includes subjects and writers who identify as transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming. This class will be presented as a mix of lecture-based and seminar-style instruction, with major emphasis on group discussion and opportunities for creative writing and reflection, as well. In addition to reading novels, short stories, poetry, dramatic literature, and life writing, we will also be studying works of feminist theory, psychoanalytic theory, and cultural criticism in the field of Transgender Studies.