College Seminar (101-7-30)

Topic

Trans History

Instructors

Zavier Nunn
Zavier Nunn is a historian of modern Europe whose work focuses on medical and legal efforts to regulate sex—who may engage in it, who may change it, and how—alongside the lived experiences of those subject to social and state policing.

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L06: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Topic: Trans History

Who counts as a man or a woman—and who decides? Trans history reveals that the boundaries between man and woman, male and female, masculine and feminine are porous and unstable, and that they shift across time and place. This seminar examines "boundary figures" (trans people, cross-dressers, intersex people) to illuminate the borders of gender and sex, while also exploring the many ways of being in the world that those borders fail to capture. Rather than treating these figures as anomalies, trans history emphasizes their significance: the margins, it turns out, tell us everything about the center.
We will read primary sources, diaries, and short stories, engage with cutting-edge scholarship, watch documentaries, and build the analytical tools historians use to read the past on its own terms.

Registration Requirements

First years only

Learning Objectives

• Gain a foundational understanding of trans history through the study of "boundary figures" and the wider systems of sex and gender that shaped different times and places. • Learn to interpret primary sources — the historian's core craft. • Engage in respectful discussion and construct thoughtful, evidence-based arguments. Historians must be ready to be surprised by the weirdness and complexity of the past, and willing to change their minds when the evidence demands it. • Develop your skills as a reader, writer, thinker, and speaker.

Evaluation Method

Participation and discussion; short response papers; in-class primary source analysis; final paper

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Americas, European
History Minor Concentration(s): Science and Technology, Law and Crime

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: REASON: Pre-registration is not allowed for this class. Please try again during regular registration. Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required