Study of Women and Gender 200 - THE QUEER 90'S

In this course we will immerse ourselves in the 1990s, looking specifically at the emergences and points of contention that made the ‘90s a queer, radical, deeply contested decade.The Queer 90s examines the moment in lesbian and gay studies when the recuperation of the term “queer” emerged. By engaging with the readings and films assigned in this course students will gain an understanding of the AIDS crisis and the rage that mobilized ACT UP. Students will learn what the Culture Wars, Welfare Reform, and the conservative attacks against the National Endowment for the Arts have to do with one another. In order to grasp the charged feeling, the urgency, the upheaval of this era we will read foundational queer theoretical texts and analyze a selection of films from the movement known as New Queer Cinema. Prerequisite: SWG 150.