ENGL 680: Course Description & Requirements

This course offers an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Studies from historical and multicultural perspectives. We will use literature, film, and theory to explore sex and sexuality as fundamental categories of analysis in the humanities. We will draw upon a wide variety of disciplines, though our primary focus will be upon literary texts and the historical contexts which shaped them. We will examine texts from a number of cultures and historical eras to appreciate the diversity, rather than the homogeneity, of sexual experiences, practices and identities as well as the cultural meanings attached to various forms of sexuality. Text selections will attempt to be as inclusive as possible, paying attention to differences in historical epoch, gender, race, class and sexual practice (including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered sexualities). The course does not posit a single, transhistorical or transcultural gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered "essence"; nor does it assume that sexual identity is a fixed inner essence unaffected by social and cultural forces; rather, it stresses the historically and culturally specific nature of same-sex practices and the development, since the seventeenth century, of the relatively modern concept of a sexual identity.

A question that we will examine throughout the semester is one raised by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick in her groundbreaking book, The Epistemology of the Closet: What were the structure, function, historical/cultural context, and signification of same-sex intimacy in the historical moment that produced the text, artifact or practice we are examining? Our focus will move beyond the academy to consider questions of social activism, les/bi/gay/trans identities and communities, and civil rights.

Through critical reading of literary, historical, and theoretical texts, we will work collaboratively toward a knowledge of LGBT Studies, its central concerns, and its various methods of inquiry. The course stresses a high degree of student involvement in, and responsibility for, the teaching and learning that will occur. Together, as a community of teacher/learners, we will shape the course to meet the diverse needs and interests of the group.

Course Policies

Attendance and Participation:

Regular attendance and thoughtful participation in class discussion are essential not only to your individual performance, but also to the success of this seminar. Our work together relies on collaboration in every phase of the course so that we might form an intellectual community, whose insights and power surpass those of any one of us working on our own. We are all subjects who share the responsibilities of teaching and learning in this class. Each of us has a responsibility to the group and to the learning that goes on in class. Therefore, more than one absence will affect the final grade; excessive absences (more than 2) will result in failure of the course.

Careful Critical Reading (Sometimes Re-Reading) of Texts Prior to Class Discussion:

This is also essential if we are to succeed as a community of scholars. I want to focus each class on your questions and insights. Please read actively and keep track of your questions and insights about each text. You will almost certainly have to take notes as you read. To facilitate our conversations about the literature, scholarship, and social history we will be reading, I ask you to prepare what I call "probes and insights" each week. To do so, write one substantive question and one insight (or “Ah ha!” statement) for EACH READING every week. Bring your "probes and insights" to each class. This, in itself, is something you can do to contribute to our work and to create a seminar atmosphere. See Assignments for a fuller explanation of this activity.

Seminar Presentations:

Much of the success of this course rests upon the quality of the group or individual seminar presentations. Together we can help each other develop the knowledge-base requisite to LGBT Studies. I'm counting on each of you to do your best work for the benefit of the group. See Assignments for a fuller explanation of this activity.

Academic Honesty:

All faculty are requested to distribute the following statement of the University Honor Code:

"By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Please refer to your Student Handbook for details."

Plagiarism--including the use of work submitted to another course without the consent of both instructors, the use of work by another person, or the use of someone else's words, ideas or arrangement of ideas without giving proper reference to the author--is a serious violation of the Honor Code. This applies to any materials on the Worldwide Web and electronic sources in the library. Be especially careful, as you complete your scholarly essay, that you do not use the ideas of others without attributing those ideas to their sources, even if you do not use direct quotations. Please see the section on plagiarism in your Student Handbook.

Required Texts

Baker, Moira. Readings for ENGL 314.

This is available ONLY through the Web CT version of this course. To access these readings, you must go through Web CT. I suggest that you access these readings on campus at the library since you will get the highest speed connection that way. Unless you have DSL or broadband online internet access at home, I do not recommend that you try to get these readings there. You may download all the readings through Web CT and print them free of charge in the library, using one of the computers that has a printer. Use a powerful computer with plenty of RAM to accommodate the large files.

Baldwin, James. Giovanni’s Room. New York: Vintage, 1993.

Birtha, Becky. Lover’s Choice: Stories. New York: Seal P, 2000.

Duberman, Martin, Martha Vicinus and George Chauncey. Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian

Past. New York: Dutton, 1989.

Isherwood, Christopher. A Single Man. Minneapolis, MN: U of Minneapolis P, 1999.

Kaufman, Moises. Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. New York: Vintage, 1998.

Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. New York: Crossing Press, 1997.

Shakespeare, William. The Complete Sonnets. Click on hyperlink for complete text.

Sherman, Martin. Bent. New York:

Wilde, Oscar. Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Dover, 1993.

Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. New York: Grove, 1985.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. New York: Harvest,