Lesbian and Gay Studies

Introductio n To Lesbian and Gay Studies & Bisexual and Transgender Studies (ENGL 245/ WMNST 245)

Class room: Olmsted 311E Class Meets: M-W-F 3:35-4:25 Professor: Jeanine Ruhsam Telephone: 717-948-6201 (Staff) E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: M-W-F 4:30-5:30 Office: Olmsted 344E-B

General Overview This course introduces Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. Students will uncover the history of modern, western ideas about sexuality and sexual and gender identity through a wide variety of texts and images across a range of disciplines and methodologies. Sexuality and gender will be considered not as “natural” or consistent phenomena, but as sets of cultural beliefs that have changed over time, manifesting themselves differently in varied cultural and historical contexts. Students will learn how the categories of sexuality and gender relate to shifting regimes of normativity in the twentieth century. Students will also discuss controversies in the contemporary period while being tolerant and respectful of differing viewpoints.

Objectives By the end of the course, students will  Read controversial and difficult material objectively and critically.  Participate in discussions by articulating your own ideas and by respectfully listening and responding to the ideas of others.  Write papers that critically reflect on key issues faced by LGBT persons.  Articulate the challenges faced by LGBT persons and organizations.  Employ sexuality and gender as categories of analysis that intersect with race, ethnicity, and class. Required Texts:

These texts are all available through the university bookstore, but you may also purchase them- sometimes for considerable savings- through Amazon or similar sites; I have supplied their ISBNs for your convenience in doing so. Please come to class with the text that is assigned for that day’s discussion.

The required readings include a number of essays or excerpts I will make available on our ANGEL course site. They are marked on the syllabus by the symbol (A)

Grading 15% Participation, attendance and quizzes 10% Exam #1 (one class period) 10% Exam #2 (one class period) 25% Final exam 15% Short paper (3-4 pages) 25% Final paper (5-6 pages)

Attendance and Participation I will take attendance every day and your participation will be will be incorporated into your final grade. You are expected to attend every class, arrive on time, and stay for the duration of the class. Our class time will usually be divided into several types of activities, including lectures, discussion of the assigned reading, and group work. You are to complete the reading of the assigned text by the day that we discuss it in class so that you are prepared to contribute to our discussion. Your meaningful participation in this class will affect your final grade, and you must be in class in order to participate in discussions. You may be excused for medical issues, family emergencies, hazardous travelling conditions or other extreme situations with appropriate documentation (such as a doctor’s note) -- but please advise me of this promptly. Your overall course grade will be lowered by one half letter for each unexcused absence beginning with the fourth one. Eight unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. Please read Penn State’s policy for further information: http://senate.psu.edu/policies/separate_policy/42- 27.htm Technology in the Classroom Cell phones and other mobile devices are to be kept quiet and out of sight during class. You are permitted to take notes and access texts on your laptop or tablet, but other use (such as surfing the net, engaging in email, Facebook, etc.) is prohibited. Infractions of this policy will result in your dismissal from class.

Academic Freedom We will all work together to foster a classroom environment that is welcoming and respectful to all, especially in light of the sometimes controversial topics that we will be dealing with in this class. I encourage you to engage in discussion of contemporary controversies while remaining respectful of others, especially those with whom you disagree. Because this university is a secular institution, intellectual values will be held in higher regard than religious, moral or political ideals. Penn State’s policy on academic freedom states: “The faculty member is expected to train students to think for themselves, and to provide them access to those materials which they need if they are to think intelligently. Hence, in giving instruction upon controversial matters the faculty member is expected to be of a fair and judicial mind, and to set forth justly, without supersession or innuendo, the divergent opinions of other investigators.” See: http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hr64.html .

Quizzes Because frequent evaluation is essential to your grasp of the course work, we will frequently evaluate our progress in this class with scheduled quizzes.

Exams You will take two exams, each for the duration of one class period. They will be of identical structure and are noted in bold type in the Course Schedule. Though the final exam will be cumulative, its emphasis will be on material covered since the second exam. I will go over the exam guidelines, structure and expectations a week in advance and will pass out a detail sheet which I will also post on ANGEL.

Exam Make-up Policy If you cannot attend an exam, please notify me by email on or before the day of the exam. To qualify for a make-up exam, you must provide a valid reason with documentation (i.e., a doctor’s note). Make up exams must occur within a week of the scheduled exam and will need to fit both our schedules. Expect the make-up exam to be more difficult, simply because I will have presented the most obvious problems in the scheduled test.

Papers and Written Assignments I will distribute detailed guidelines for papers and written assignments in class closer to the due date and will also make them available on ANGEL. Papers must be typed, double-spaced in 12-point font (Times New Roman or Georgia), with 1-inch margins, printed on standard white paper, and stapled. Your name, the course name and the assignment title should be in the upper left corner of the first page; the title may be placed, centered, below that. Choose a title that is interesting and that helps the reader understand what the paper is about. Do not print a separate title page. Number all pages, in the upper right hand corner. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted. Both papers must be submitted in hard copy at the beginning of class on the due date. Your first paper will allow me to assess your level of academic ability, and thus I will allow you to revise and resubmit it for a higher grade. Assignments that are not submitted on time will drop one letter grade for each class period past the due date. Computer or technical problems are not acceptable excuses for late papers.

ANGEL I will provide a quantity of important material to you on our ANGEL site, including the syllabus, assigned reading material, assignment instructions, and lecture presentations. Please consult ANGEL regularly so you do not miss assignments.

The Learning Center The writing tutors at The Learning Center (Olmstead 216C, 948-6475 and www.hbg.psu.edu/LearningCenter/ ) are ready and willing to support you with all aspects of your writing. They can help you with your thesis ideas, composition and formatting and give you feedback on your draft before you submit your paper. Don’t hesitate to access their assistance.

Academic Integrity Do not cheat. You are here to learn, and that is what your grade reflects; there are no shortcuts. Academic integrity includes a commitment by all members of the University community not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others. Penn State holds that, “Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction.” In summary, dishonesty will result in failure of this course and possible expulsion from Penn State. Please see Penn State’s policy here: http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/47-00.html#49-20

Disability Access Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at 814-863-1807 (V/TTY). For further information regarding ODS, please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site at http://equity.psu.edu/ods/ .

Class Cancellation If our campus is closed due to inclement weather, then this class is also cancelled. Announcements regarding weather cancellations can be found at the college's web page at www.hbg.psu.edu You may also subscribe to http://live.psu.edu/psutxt , which will notify you by text of cancellations and other important issues. If you are a commuter and are worried about your safety traveling to class due to adverse weather conditions when the campus is open, please notify me. If for any reason I must cancel class, I will notify you by email in advance. Contacting Me I am here to help you learn. Never refrain from approaching me about anything related to this class. You can talk with me before and after class, during office hours, or by appointment. E-mail ([email protected]) is the best way to contact me, and I will make every effort to respond to you within 24 hours, though weekends and holidays might be an exception.

Course schedule We will try to follow this schedule, but I may need to make some changes over the course of the semester. Rest assured that you will be given notification by me in advance if that occurs.

Week 1 Course introduction, Stonewall and sexuality  1/12: Introduction and review of syllabus  1/14: Stonewall and the birth of a movement o View in class: Stonewall Uprising  1/16: Complete film Week 2 Thinking about sex  1/19: MLK Day – No Class  1/21: Lecture and discussion o Read (A) Rubin, Thinking Sex: Notes for a radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality  1/23: Guest lecture: Louie Marven, Executive Director, LGBT Center of Central PA Week 3 LGBT herstory/history  1/26: Discussion: Rupp, A Desired Past (Ch. 1-3)  1/28: Discussion: Rupp, A Desired Past (Ch. 4-6)  1/30: Discussion: Rupp, A Desired Past (Ch. 6- end)

L Week 4 Women desiring women  2/2: Lecture: The L word  2/4: Discussion: (A) Vicinus, “They Wonder to Which Sex I Belong”: The Historical Roots of the Modern Lesbian Identity  2/6: Discussion: (A) Wittig, One Is Not Born a Woman Week 5 Radclyffe Hall: breaking barriers  2/9: Discussion: Hall, Well of Loneliness (Read through Book 2, Ch. 20)  2/11: Discussion: Hall, Well of Loneliness (to Book 5)  2/13: Discussion: Hall, Well of Loneliness (complete); discuss First Paper Week 6 Rubyfruit Jungle: happily ever after  2/16: Discussion: Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle  2/18: Discussion: Brown, Rubyfruit Jungle  2/20: First exam G Week 7 Men loving men  2/23: Lecture: Gay  2/25: Discussion: (A) Abelove, Freud, Male Homosexuality and the Americans  2/27: Discussion: (A) Halperin, How to do the History of Male Homosexuality Week 8 Maurice  3/2: Discussion: Forster, Maurice  3/4: Discussion: Forster, Maurice  3/6: Discussion: Forster, Maurice First Paper Due  Week 9: Spring Break!

Week 10 Questions of gender identity  3/16: Discussion: (A) Whitman, selections from Leaves of Grass

T  3/18: Lecture: Transgender  3/20: Guest lecture: Jennifer Boylan Week 11 Life in two genders  3/23: Discussion: Boylan, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders  3/25: Discussion: Boylan, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders  3/27: Discussion: Boylan, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders Week 12 Constructing gender & sex  3/30: Film, Ma Vie en Rose  4/1: Discussion: (A) Kessler and McKenna, Toward a Theory of Gender; Butler, excerpt from Gender Trouble  4/3: Discussion: (A) Dreger, The Social Construction of Sex Week 13 Menage a trois  4/6: Second exam

 4/8: Lecture: Bisexual  4/10: Discussion: Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room Week 14 Giovanni’s dilemma  4/13: Discussion: Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room  4/15: Discussion: Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room  4/17: Lecture: Post Stonewall

Week 15 Courts and culture  4/20: Discussion: (A) (excerpts) Lawrence v. Texas; Bower v. Hartwick  4/22: Discussion: (A) (excerpts) U.S. v. Windsor; Judge Jones Opinion  4/24: Discussion: (A) Halberstam, Gaga Relations: The End of Marriage Final Paper Due Week 16 What’s morality got to do with it?  4/27: Lecture: What’s Morality Got to Do with It?  4/29: Student presentations  5/1: Student presentations