Topics in Latina and Latino Social and Political Issues (392-0-3)

Topic

Feminist Aesthetics of the Erotic

Instructors

Elvia Mendoza
Crowe Hall, Room 1144

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-410: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This course examines how the erotic influences acts of refusal and visions of liberation in the context of confronting violence and oppression. Audre Lorde identifies the erotic as a vital source of power for change, describing it as "the creative energy empowered, the knowledge and the use of which we are now reclaiming in our language, our history, our dancing, our loving, our work, our lives. "Using her understanding of the erotic as our starting point, we will engage with a variety of written and visual texts created by feminist scholars, artists, and activists. This exploration will allow us to rigorously investigate how the erotic is embodied, experienced, expressed, and transformed into revolutionary thought and action. We will critically discuss themes such as desire, self-creation, memory, liberation, and home, amongst others, within the historical contexts of racialization, gender and sexual oppression, nation-state formation, displacement, and forced migration.

Class Materials (Required)

Sirena Selena, Mayra Santos-Febres

Reading assignments will be provided via Canvas and library reserves.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area