Reading Assignments

Optional Reading: 

For a basic introduction to gay and lesbian life, see Richard Mohr, Gays/Justice: A Study of Ethics, Society, and Law (New York: Columbia, 1988), Part 1 (pp. 22-45).

Read:

Richard Dyer, The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations (London: Routledge, 1993), chapters 1-3 (pp. 1-18).

**Samuel R. Delany, "Coming/Out," in Patrick Merla, ed., Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories (New York: Avon Books, 1996).

Further reading (completely optional) for Week 1

Tuesday, February 5: Class will view the film Before Stonewall in Room 4206 Hornbake (Non-Print Media Services). Note that this film runs longer (87 minutes) than the standard 75 minute class and will be shown in its entirety starting promptly at 3:30 PM. Students are expected to make arrangements to stay to the end, approximately 5 PM, if at all possible. However, if that proves impossible, you may leave early but are required to watch the continuation of the film on your own within this week. You can watch it at Hornbake (HQ76.8 U5B42) at your convenience.

Read:

George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Male Gay World 1890-1940 (New York: Basic Books, 1994) - selections: "Introduction" (pp. 1-29), Ch. 4 [social construction] (pp. 99-127), Ch. 5 (pp. 131-150), pp. 152-163, 168-173, 179-180, 195-205, Chapter 8 (pp. 207-226), pp. 227-228, 237-267.

*Edward Stein, "Essentialism and Constructionism About Sexual Orientation" (in David L. Hull and Michael Ruse, eds. The Philosophy of Biology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 427-442.

Recommended Films: The Naked Civil Servant, Last Call at Maude's

Further reading for Week 2

Read:

Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, Chs. 1-4. (1-150)

View required film outside of class: The Celluloid Closet (PN 1995.9 H55C4 1986). This film will be on the midterm.

Further reading for Week 3

Read:

Jonathan Dollimore, Sexual Dissidence (New York : Oxford University Press, 1991), Chapters 1-3

View required film by today or tomorrow: The Gang's All Here (PN 1997.G27 1997). This film will be  on the midterm.

Suggested Films: Edward II, Sebastian (both by Derek Jarman), My Own Private Idaho

Further reading for Week 4

Read:

*Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp," pp. 275-292 in her Against Interpretation (New York: Anchor, 1964)

George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Male Gay World 1890-1940 (New York: Basic Books, 1994), ch. 10 (pp. 271-299.

*Eric Garber, "A Spectacle in Color: The Lesbian and Gay Subculture of Jazz Age Harlem," pp. 318-331 in Martin Duberman, Martha Vicinus, and George Chauncey, Jr. (eds.) Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay & Lesbian Past (New York: New American Library, 1989).

Richard Dyer, The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations (London: Routledge, 1993), Ch. 4 (pp. 19-51).

Further reading for Week 5

Films exemplifying camp:

• The Gang's All Here (Busbey Berkeley, Carmen Miranda, Edward Everett Horton)
• Gold-Diggers of 1933 (Busby Berkeley, Dick Powell)
• Gold-Diggers of 1935 (Busby Berkeley, Dick Powell)
• Dames (Busby Berkeley, Dick Powell)
• Babes on Broadway (Busby Berkeley, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney)
• Babes in Arms (Busby Berkeley, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney)
• Springtime in the Rockies (Carmen Miranda)
• Flying Down to Rio (Dolores Del Rio, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Eric Blore)
• Shall We Dance (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore)
• Top Hat (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore)
• Vegas in Space (Drag sci-fi)

Read:

George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the making of the Male Gay World 1890-1940 (New York: Basic Books, 1994), Ch. 12, "Epilogue" (pp. 331-361)

Spend some time looking at the website of Stonewall and Beyond, an exhibit at the Columbia University Libraries; pay particular attention to cases one and two.

Recommended Reading:

*Richard Dyer, Only Entertainment (New York: Routledge, 1992), Chapter 14 "Getting Over the Rainbow: Identity and Pleasure in Gay Cultural Politics" (pp. 159-172)

Suggested Videos: The Killing of Sister George, The Fox, Fried Green Tomatoes

Further reading for Week 6

Read:

*Frederick Suppe, "Medical and Psychiatric Perspectives on Human Sexuality," pp. 17-37 in E. Shelp (ed.), Sexuality and Medicine, Vol. 1 (Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1987).

*Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, "How to Bring Up Your Kids Gay," pp. 69-81 in Michael Warner (ed.), Fear of a Queer Planet: Queer Politics and Social Theory (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993).

Andrew Sullivan, ed., Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con, pp. 7-21, 46-77.

Listen to this radio documentary by Alix Spiegel and This American Life: Click here, then click on "02" under "Episodes by Year" on the left of the page, then scroll down to January 18 ("81 Words"). You need Real Audio to listen.

Recommended Reading:

*Jonathan Dollimore, Sexual Dissidence   (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991);  Chs. 16-17 (pp. 233-275); strongly recommended  as background: Chapters 8-9 (pp. 103-147)

Suggested Videos: The Boys in the Band; Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker

Further reading for Week 7

Read:

*Michael Bronski, Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility , Pt. III (pp. 189-214).

Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, Ch. 5-6. (pp. 151-230).

Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986). Read all the opinions: the opinion of the Court, the concurring opinions, and the dissenting opinions. Search for the full text online at this  Northwestern University site (which includes a link to a  Real Audio recording of the oral arguments in the case).

Radicalesbian Manifesto

Suggested Videos: Cruising, Urinal, Tasxi zum Klo, Claire of the Moon, Desert Hearts, Go Fish, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Further reading for Week 8

Read:

*David Wojnarowicz, Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration (News York: Vintage, 1991), pp. 84-137 ("Living Close to the Knives" and "Postcards from America")

Suggested Videos: Blue (Derek Jarman), Zero Patience, Longtime Companion, Parting Glances, Well Sexy Women

Further reading for Week 9

*Eric Rofes, Reviving the Tribe: Regenerating Gay Men's Sexuality and Culture in the Ongoing Epidemic (New York): Harrington Park Press, 1996), Chapters 4-6, pp. 97-190.

Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, ch. 7 (pp. 231-277).

Andrew Sullivan, ed., Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con, pp. 118-140, 146-168, 196-199, 239-294, 323-326. And whatever else catches your eye.

Read:

*Essix Hemphill, Brother to Brother          (Boston: Alyson, 1991):

Charles I Nero, "Toward a Black Gay Aesthetic: Signifying in Contemporary Black Gay Culture," pp. 229-252.

Charles Henry Fuller, "The Jazz Singer," pp. 3-6.

Guy-Mark Foster, "The Book of Luke," pp. 23-27.

**Craig Seymour, "Response to Question 21 from the Fall 1995 final exam for this course."

*Randy Burns, "Preface," pp. 1-5 in Will Roscoe, Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology (New York: St. Martions, 1988).

*Russell Leong, "Introduction: Home Bodies and the Body Politic," pp. 1-20 in Russell DeLeong, Asian American Sexualities: Dimensions of the Gay & Lesbian Experience (New York: Routledge, 1996)

More readings to be announced.

Suggested Films: Looking for Langston, The Color Purple, Okoge, Ernesto, Strawberries and Chocolate, Queen of the Night (La Reina de la Noche)

Further reading for Week 12

Read:

*Thomas Almaguer, "Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Identity and Behavior" pp. 255-273 in Henry Abelove, Maichele Aina Barale, and David M. Halperin (eds.), The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader (New York: Routledge, 1993).

*Richard Rodriguez, Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father (New York: Penguin Books, 1992), Chapter 2.

Recommended reading:

Richard Dyer, The Matter of Images: Essays on Representations (London: Routledge, 1993), ch. 13 (pp. 141-163)

More readings to be announced.

Read:

*Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, The Epistemology of the Closet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), Chapter 1 (pp. 67-90).

Recommended reading:

Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, Chs 9-10.

Further reading for Week 14

May 22: Final Exam Due