Blackqueer Theory

This course engages students in a multisensory exploration of Black and Queer theory, honing critical skills in reading, viewing, listening, and “making.” As Blackqueer/ Black queer/ Black quare thought has developed across centuries, it has taken different, yet complementary, forms in written, visual, audio, and digital technologies. Core to the practice of it are mixed and creative methods and mediums. Through non-standard assignments, the course trains students how to analyze myriad forms of media and texts, and how to create and practice the theories they study. In addition to developing critical reading, thinking, and writing skills, students will also: conduct archival research and produce a podcast episode. By the conclusion of the course, students will have created a portfolio of work that reflects the breadth of Blackqueer thought and bespeaks their own conception striving toward a more just world.

Sample Texts:

• “The Race for Theory” by Barbara Christian

• “A Black Feminist Statement” by The Combahee River Collective

• “ ‘Quare’ Studies, of (Almost) Everything I know About Queer Studies I Learned from My Grandmother” by E. Patrick Johnson

• “The Black Belly” by Calvin Warren

• “Introduction: An Impossibility: Black Queer and Trans* Aesthetics.” By Shanté P. Smalls & Elliot H. Powell

• Pose (TV series)

Sample Assignment:

Instead of a final paper, you will produce a manifesto at the conclusion of this course. The manifesto does not need to replicate any of the others we have looked at over the course of the semester, but should think critically about what your ethos, goals, and worldbuilding project is. It can be as long as you’d like; however, your reflection on the process of producing the manifesto should be 5-7 pages.

In addition to a manifesto, you will make one commitment that you will stick to for the duration of one year.