Literary Histories (200-0-20)

Topic

Demon Twinks

Instructors

Agam Balooni

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 214: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

In July 2021, red-eyed photos of an ill-behaved reveler on Britney Spears's party boat went viral, earning him internet notoriety as a "demon twink." While the nickname was new, the trope of demonic queerness has a long history in Anglophone literature. This course will begin by looking at a selection of relevant TikToks and films to unpack the cultural phenomenon of the demon twink. We will then go back in time and connect our findings to his literary predecessors, investigating such character types as the dandy of Victorian England in The Picture of Dorian Gray and the shape-shifting Matilda in Matthew Lewis's The Monk. Through class discussions, in-class presentations, a short midterm essay, and a final paper or creative project, we will learn how to read literary texts, how to disagree in an informed and respectful way, and how to construct an original interpretation in the form of an argument. Armed with these analytical skills, we will approach literary and cultural configurations of non-normative sexuality to understand how representations of demonic queer desire link up with the erasure of the genderfluid Hijra communities in nineteenth-century British India and with anti-trans legislation in the US today.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area