First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-3)

Instructors

Jennifer Anne Lupu
Jennifer A. Lupu is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at Northwestern University and a visiting scholar at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College. Her historical archaeology research has included studies of brothels, medicine use and access, and LGBTQ experiences in late-19th to early-20th century Washington, DC. She was previously a predoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and her research has been funded by the Smithsonian, the Social Sciences Research Council, and the Sexualities Project at Northwestern.

Meeting Info

ANTHRO Sem Rm 104 - 1810 Hinmn: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Traditional ways of representing the world around us are steeped in heteronormative assumptions and practices. How might we re-imagine or represent the world around us in a queer way? What would a queer utopia look like and how could we begin to move toward that future? We will explore what makes a queer space "queer" and why these spaces are so elusive and poorly represented within traditional maps. We will examine queer mapping projects from scholars, artists, and activists around the world who have re-envisioned what a map can depict—erasing borders, marking queer communities or imagining new ones, and disrupting heteronormativity to actively re-invent queer worlds. Students will also read works that attempt to "queer" or creatively innovate approaches to academic writing.

Learning Objectives

- Gain tools for understanding and analyzing theoretical articles
- Learn about queer geographies and queer theory literatures
- Improve skills for writing analysis and response-style papers
- Learn to develop and construct an academic argument
- Build skills for longer-form essay writing, including outlining and researching
- Improve ability to constructively peer-review and critique writing

Class Materials (Required)

All provided on Canvas

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar