Beyond the Binary: Transgender and Race (235-0-20)

Instructors

Eli Kean

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This introductory course explores the boundaries and binaries of gender, sexuality, race, and disability. This course will analyze approaches to understanding gender norms and identity categories, as well as consider experiences and contestations beyond these binaries. Particularly through reading trans, non-binary, and genderqueer histories, experiences, and politics, this class will consider the possibilities and problems of categorizing "the beyond." We will discuss shifting conceptualizations of "normal" as it pertains to identity and embodiment, and what is assumed to defy this "normal" as embedded in the intersecting histories and legacies of race, class, sexuality, nationality, and ability. For instance, what is the relationship between race and gender that specifically shapes and forms the boundaries of gender in the United States? What possibilities and realities exist beyond the binaries of straight/gay, Black/white, abled/disabled, citizen/non-citizen? How does power in social, cultural, and political arenas impact these discourses? This course aims to recognize and understand these contested histories through the lens of our current moment.

Class Materials (Required)

TBD

Class Attributes

Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area