Introduction to Queer Studies
This survey course will introduce students to a range of concepts fundamental to Queer Studies in the Humanities in the U.S. We will ground our work in the social construction of binary systems to understand the ways in which sex, gender, race, and sexuality function under hierarchical structures of power. Using an intersectional feminist lens, we will work to understand the ways state-sanctioned violence and marginalized people’s resistance have shaped our contemporary social world. Throughout the course, we will discuss themes of body and embodiment, race, sexuality and liberation movements, gender identity and performance, the policing of gender and sexual expression, intersex activism, reproductive justice, disability justice, and queer and trans care. We will learn about Black, Indigenous, and people of color’s approaches to queer kinship, movements, and collective identities and unpack the ways legacies of colonialism construct norms of bodies, families, and identities. By the end of the course, students will develop arguments rooted in core concepts of the field of Queer Studies, and articulate their own positions about the past, present, and future potential of queer liberation movements.
Offered: Spring 2026, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Summer 2022, and Fall 2021 at Stony Brook University.
Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
This survey course will introduce students to a range of concepts fundamental to Women’s and Gender Studies. Grounding our work in social construction theory to understand the ways in which sex, gender, race, sexuality, and other markers of bodily difference are managed by hierarchical systems of power, we will evaluate the ways marginalized people’s resistance to state-sanctioned violence has shaped our contemporary social world. Through an intersectional feminist lens, we will discuss themes of body and embodiment, gender identity and performance, Black feminist activism and intersectionality, sexual and reproductive justice, and more.
Offered: Winter 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2023, and Spring 2023 at Stony Brook University