ENG 332—Transgender Studies

In recent decades, increased media attention and the proliferation of anti-trans legislation has led to a more general public awareness of basic concepts, images, and social issues impacting transgender and gender variant people. Alongside these developments, an interdisciplinary field of transgender studies has taken shape since the mid-2000s and has provided a rich existential and theoretical set of resources for addressing the complex gendered, racial, and political stakes of trans and gender variant life and futurity. In dialogue with this field of study, this course addresses topics and themes within the field of transgender studies, including, for example, the functions of the nation-state in the formation, authorization, and negotiation of gender, racial, and other identity categories, and how the surveillance and criminalization of forms of embodiment and desire impact transgender and gender variant people. Lastly, building from the rich and varied forms of cultural expression by trans and gender variant people, the course also examines the experiences and liberatory projects of transgender and gender variant activists and scholars. Course content will vary based on the instructor. This course is cross-listed with GGS 326 .