English 382QM - Advanced Topics in English: 'The Queer Early Modern'

This course combines Renaissance literary texts with various related secondary readings that will enable students to better understand the way that sexuality -- both normative and nonnormative -- was portrayed and interpreted in early modern literature. As we progress through the course, we will discuss what defines queer history and histories of sexuality, how the history of sexuality in the past informs the present, and, ultimately, the ways in which we can use early modern literature to better understand ourselves today. Course texts will include Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, John Lyly's Galatea, Shakespeare's sonnets, and the poetry of Aemilia Lanyer, Aphra Behn, and Katherine Philips.

This course is open to juniors and seniors