Week 1 was class introduction, and I missed it due to my travels. Week 2 was focused on introduction to the subject matter of Queerness, definitions, overviews of philosophy.
Readings (assigned and otherwise)
- Annamarie Jagose (1996) Queery Theory: An introduction. New York: New York University Press.
- Judith Butler (1990) Gender Trouble. (2nd ed.) Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
- https://medium.com/@kate_shields/what-is-queer-art-46ebecf93a89
- Judith Helberstam (2008) ‘The Anti-Social Turn in Queer Studies’ In: Graduate Journal of Social Sciences 5 (2)
- David Halperin (2003) ‘The Normalization of Queer Theory’ In: Journal of Homosexuality 45 (2/3/4) pp.339–343.
- Sandra Martínez and Eugènia Riera (2021) Interview with Judith Butler, philosopher and activist. At: https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/article/interview-with-judith-butler-philosopher-and-activitst/ (Accessed 15/11/2024).
Youtube references (assigned and stumbled upon)
Assignment: Choose a piece of queer art, share it with the group, and explain your choice.
I chose Keith Haring’s Unfinished Painting. I explained the choice revolves around Haring’s focus on the AIDS pandemic, and its personal impact to himself. This relates to Queer Art being identified not just by a queer creator, but by the context it speaks to. My coming of age and realization of my difference from straight peers was contemporaneous to this painting; the AIDS pandemic was impacting me, in my growing awareness. This piece is a signpost and memorial to those times and it reminds me of-, and stands in for, the generation of gay men older than me that didn’t survive.
It is also a call to action, reminding me that life is short and that we should spend what time we have made as much impact (personal or otherwise) as possible.
