Special Topics in the Humanities (370-6-21)

Topic

Queer Cinema

Instructors

Lakshmi Padmanabhan

Meeting Info

Helmerich Auditorium: Thurs 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Annie May Swift Hall 219: Thurs 12:00PM - 1:20PM

Overview of class

Queer Cinema

How does cinema allow us to theorize queer forms of belonging? What constitutes queer aesthetics today? What are the political possibilities for reimagining the boundaries of queerness in the present? And what are the ongoing tensions and fault lines around identity and desire that remain unaddressed through queer theory's political interventions? These are some of the questions we will grapple with in this course. Screenings will include early gay and lesbian cinema, and "queer" film avant la lettre, the New Queer Cinema movement in the United States and Europe, as well as contemporary queer and trans film and video from around the world. We will pay particular attention to the aesthetic strategies of independent filmmakers and video artists, drawing out the connections between experimental aesthetic forms and politically engaged critique. Each week, we will develop a shared language of film analysis to address the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through close readings of the visual texts.

Class Materials (Required)

All readings will be available for download on Canvas, and all films will be screened in class.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area