LGBTQ Course Guide
***FALL 2011***
FEMINIST LEGAL THEORY
WMST 324
Tuesdays 5-7:30 pm
Adriana Ramírez de Arellano, J.D., Ph.D.
This course looks at the intersection of sex and law. In the first section we study marriage and prostitution as sexual contracts. Instead of treating these as mutually contradictory types of sexual relations, we will look at the historical relation between sex, money, and contracts (Contract Theory being the cornerstone of the liberal nation state), so as to reveal marriage and prostitution as two sides of the same coin: the libidinal use/abuse value of women in patriarchal societies. In the second section, we depart from MacKinnon’s contention that rape laws assume the point of view of the rapist. Through the discussion of case studies, we will see precisely how the “Law” (in all its avatars: as statutes, appellate court opinions, litigation strategies, jury instructions and law enforcement practices) reflects, reinforces, and perpetuates a particularly male point of view. In the third section, we look at various legal approaches to the regulation of pornography and the role pornography actually plays in contemporary sexuality.
Besides providing a primer in feminist jurisprudence, students will become acquainted–through assigned readings and class lectures– with postmodern theory, queer theory, and emerging theory on the intersection of Power and Technology, particularly pertaining to mimetic, digital, and viral technologies. In the final sections of the course we will look at torture—both consensual and criminal–as well as domestic and international torture laws. Whereas academia treats state-torture, criminal sexual sadism, and consensual sadomasochism as unrelated fields of study (human rights, forensic psychology or criminology, and alternative sexualities, respectively), our course treats them rather as a continuum: the state invents torture practices, that are in turn appropriated by “serial killers” for their private libidinal consumption, and finally repackaged as (sexual) entertainment for mass consumption by the S&M industry.
Language and Gender
LING 334/554, WMST
Cross-Listed Course
The course looks at gender-related variation in speech and discourse style, with readings on feminist critical theory and on sociolinguistic communities of practice theory. Students do several class projects involving field observation (e.g., humor and gender, classroom discourse) and a longer research project. The course usually draws a wide range of undergrad and graduate students.
Lesbian Culture and Politics
WMST 335, Amst 330, Soc 398, and Anth 340.
Cross-Listed Course
MWF 12-12:50
Lucy Grinnell
This course will examine lesbian culture(s) and politics within transnational contexts, utilizing historical and theoretical texts, fiction, and film. By viewing identity formation as historically and culturally informed, we will critically consider the construction of lesbian identities and intersections with race, class, nation, and religion. Seeking understandings of the role of lesbian and broader LGBTQ studies in society and academia, we will analyze representations of “lesbians” in history and in popular culture, as well as study the history of various lesbian/queer communities and social movements internationally.
Queer Theory
WMST 379.008, AMST 330.008, ENG 411.008, PHIL 341.008
Cross-Listed Course
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00 – 3:15, HUM 428
Dr. Kathryn Wichelns
Office: 2137 MVH
wichelns@unm.edu
This course serves as an advanced introduction to the field of contemporary interdisciplinary queer theory. Developing out of gay and lesbian rights movements as well as 20th Century philosophy and its influences on feminism, literary theory, and cultural studies, queer theory works to expose and unsettle the foundations of our understandings of sex and sexuality. Recent analyses have challenged earlier ideas about what “queerness” means. Do notions of race, class and nationality, particularly in the context of globalization, reflect heteronormative values? What does it mean to “queer” a text, idea, or discourse? We’ll examine what queer theory’s critical relationship to presumptions of subjective cohesion offers to academic practices, including the act of reading. In framing these and other questions in the context of course content, students will work towards the completion of a researched argumentative paper that represents an engagement with queer theory as a scholarly method.
Raza Genders & Sexualities
300-level undergrad course in fall 2011
CHMS, WMST, AMST, SOC
Cross-listed Course
Gina Diaz
In this interdisciplinary course we will study Raza (Latina/Latino or Latin@) culture and activism as they are informed by and intersect with performances of gender and sexual practices and identities. We will analyze expressive culture including creative writing, visual art, and other mediums. Latin@ culture as a field of struggle over belonging and representation will also be considered. Feminist and queer critique will be central to our work.
Students will be expected to write responses to course texts including weekly readings, films, exhibitions, and other cultural productions studied. As well, they will complete a final analytical project that demonstrates aptitude in an aspect of Latin@ sexualities and genders.
This class will meet once a week on Mondays from 4:00-6:30 pm. Register through Chicano, Hispano, Mexicano Studies, American Studies, Sociology, or Women Studies. For more information call 277-6414 or email chicanos@unm.edu.
Sociology of Gender
SOC 308, WMST 308
Karen E. McCue
TR 12:30-1:45
Bandelier Hall East 105
How and why societies create gender categories. How do definitions of ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ vary? What are the costs and benefits of being male or female in contemporary American society? Prerequisite: 101.
