FGSS 1103

FWS: Performances of Gender, Stages of Woman

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

We enact gender. For the past quarter century, feminist thought has called into question the biological and cultural determinations of gender by thinking about gender through the lens of performance. This course will trace the ways that such performances not only subvert but also produce gender, sex, and sexual identities. We will examine the ways that literature, theatre, film, and feminist thought unsettle identities through disruptive stagings, such as drag. But we will also consider how repetitions of performances give rise to seemingly stable gender identities, identities that remain the target of violence around the world. Through written assignments, in-class performances, and course readings, students will have the opportunity to think through conceptual and political stakes of gender performance.

When Offered Fall.

Satisfies Requirement First-Year Writing Seminar.

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