Feminist Aesthetics of the Erotic (366-0-1)

Instructors

Elvia Mendoza
Crowe Hall, Room 1144

Meeting Info

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

Overview of class

This course delves into how the erotic informs and shapes acts of refusal in confronting intersecting systems of oppression. Audre Lorde asserts that the erotic serves as a vital source of transformative power and resistance, describing it as a "creative energy that we are currently reclaiming through our language, history, dancing, love, work, and lives." In reflecting on Lorde's concept of the erotic as a catalyst for enacting new possibilities, we will examine it as a source of knowledge, a practice of social and bodily awareness, a theoretical perspective, a method of inquiry, and creative practice. Our interdisciplinary approach will foster a critical understanding of how the erotic functions as a framework for critical thought and social critique, bridging the personal and the political through various artistic and theoretical expressions. We will engage with a range of written texts and creative forms to identify sites of erotic knowledge and explore their transformation into critical thought and action.

Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives:
-Students will critically engage with theories of the erotic, examine its role as a transformative source of creativity and resistance, and apply their understanding to various sociopolitical contexts.

-Students will explore how the erotic serves as a practice of social and bodily awareness, emphasizing the connection between personal experience and intersecting dominant power structures.

-Students will develop an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the erotic as a source of knowledge for social critique and enacting social change.

-Students will cultivate writing skills and artistic practice to further develop their critical thinking.

Class Materials (Required)

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Assigned texts will be made available on Canvas and/or library reserves in Main.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area