QUEER TV RTF 335, WGS 335 Spring 2019 Seminar: M/W/F 2:00pm-3:00pm (CMA 3.124) Screening: W: 7:30pm-10:00pm (CMA 3.116) Professor: Curran Nault Office Hours: Wednesdays, 3:30pm-6:30pm, BUR 570 Email: [email protected] TA: Paxton Haven Office Hours: By appointment Email: [email protected] Course Overview This course immerses students in the critical analysis of queer television, broadly construed. Students Will read key queer/TV theory writings and explore a diversity of queer TV texts and genres, past and present, paying close attention to their attendant practices of production and reception, as Well as the contested discourses of identity, politics, activism, desire and represen- tation that these texts elicit. Important to this project are historical shifts in the depiction of LGBTQ+ individuals, including their growing visibility within commercial media culture and the “gaystream”—shifts that parallel the evolution of the televisual medium itself, from network TV, to cable, to streaming services. This course also insists on an intersectional approach that actively queries race, class, nation, ability and generation—in additional to gender and sexuality. Course Goals After successfully completing this course, students will have the ability to: • Explicate and debate key queer/television theories and concepts • Recognize dominant strategies used by the commercial media industries in producing LGBTQ+ texts and portraying LGBTQ+ people, and in appeals made to these consumers • Analyze “alternative” queer practices of representation, reception and production • Appreciate the intersections of sexuality with race, class, gender, nation and generation Course Materials All readings are posted on Canvas. Students are responsible for retrieving and reading them. Evaluation TV Journals 20% “Pop” Quizzes 20% Paper Project Part 1 20% Paper Project Part 2 20% Attendance/Participation 20% Grading Scale: This class Will use the standard +/- system. Assignments TV Journals: By midnight each Thursday, students are to post (250+ Words) on Canvas in response to the Wednesday night screening/s. This is intended to be a “loW stakes” assignment, fostering a space for students to raise questions/critiques and to think through topics covered in class. At times, prompts Will be given. At others, students will be free to discuss Whatever sparks their interest. “Pop” Quizzes: At unspecified times during the semester, students Will take pop quizzes at the start of class. Although these quizzes will be impromptu, the quiz will alWays be on the reading for that day and the questions Will always be the same: 1) What is the thesis (the main idea or claim) of the reading?; and 2) What is a major example that the author uses to support this thesis? You must be specific in your ansWers. If students are keeping up with the readings, these “pop” quizzes should not be onerous. Paper Project: Students are to choose a television series of any genre, time period or format to examine over the course of the semester. This series must be relevant to the queer topics engaged in the course. Students may choose a series that is included in the syllabus, but the student’s work must be original (i.e., not just a repeat of What has already been discussed in class). Part 1: In part one of the assignment, students will write a 4-5 page paper that contextualizes the series in terms of: 1) its production histories; and 2) the salient public (audience/fan, critic) discourses that the series has elicited. Additional details to be provided at a later date. Note: This portion of the paper project Will undergo a revise and resubmit process. Part 2: In part two of the assignment, students will write a 4-5 page paper that provides an in- depth analysis of one (possibly two) episode/s of the series. Students will be required to link their analyses to class concepts and external research. Additional details to be provided at a later date. Active Participation/Attendance: is a grade that must be earned; it requires more than being a Warm body in class. For a high grade, you must be an active participant. This means asking and ansWering questions, and listening attentively and respectfully to the instructor and your classmates. Students Who are repeatedly disruptive Will receive a poor class participation grade. This includes but is not limited to: talking/Whispering to your neighbor, talking/texting on a phone, checking email/playing computer games, sleeping, and noisily packing your books before class has ended. NOTE: Missing class means missing crucial material and assignments, thus impacting your grade. About the Course Reading assignments should be done prior to the class period for which they are listed. Students who fall behind in the readings Will find it difficult to succeed in this course. Cultural Diversity Flag: This course carries the Cultural Diversity flag. Cultural Diversity courses are designed to increase your familiarity With the variety and richness of the American cultural experience. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of U.S. cultural groups that have experienced persistent marginalization. Writing Flag: This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience With Writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to Write regularly during the semester, complete substantial Writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your Writing. You Will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ Work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your Written Work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, TeamWork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Difficult Course Content: At times this semester we will be discussing material that may be upsetting to some students. In a class dedicated to queer TV, discussion and critique of significant, but sometimes contentious and difficult, issues related to race, gender, sexuality, etc., is to be expected. If you ever feel the need to step outside during one of these discussions, you may do so Without academic penalty. You will, however, be responsible for any material you miss. Services for students with disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students With disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY. Academic misconduct: Cheating Will not be tolerated. Expect me to pursue every instance of suspected academic misconduct in this course. TWo kinds of academic misconduct are cheating on quizzes and exams, and plagiarism (such as turning in someone else’s work, doWnloading a paper from the Web in part or in Whole, or paraphrasing or quoting sources Without citation). Penalties range from a zero on the assignment to expulsion from school. The Work that you turn in should honestly and accurately demonstrate your own academic efforts. Your assignments should also reflect Work done for this course. Do not turn in assignments done for another course or attempt to pass off as “research” readings or screenings from another course. I expect all of you to knoW the University’s full definition of academic misconduct and its possible penalties. Information on academic integrity and disciplinary action is available online at <http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/academicintegrity.html>. Please see me if you have further questions. Course Schedule: Or, A Guide to the “Gay Agenda” J Note: Readings should be completed prior to the class period for Which they are assigned. STEP 1: COMMENCING QUEER Core Concepts and Methodologies Week 1 Establishing Queer 1/23 Class Introductions 1/25 Read: Anna Tripp, “Introduction to Gender” Week 2 Considering Queer 1/28 Read: Anonymous Queers, “Queers Read This” Possible in-class excerpt: Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution 1/30 Read: Douglas Kellner, “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism and Media Culture” Night Screening: RuPaul’s Drag Race 2/1 Group discussion of Drag Race (enacting “Multiperspectival Cultural Studies”) STEP 2: DEPICTING QUEER Regimes of Representation Week 3 Framing Queer 2/4 Read: Larry Gross, “The Mediated Society” and Richard Dyer, “The Role of Stereotypes” Possible in-class excerpts: The Homosexuals, Police Woman and/or Soap (gl/g firsts) 2/6 Read: Alfred Martin, “It’s Not In His Kiss: Gay Kisses and Camera Angles in US Network Television Comedy” Possible in-class excerpts: LA Law, Roseanne and/or Modern Family (first kisses) Night Screening: All in the Family and The Jeffersons 2/8 Discussion of Wednesday’s screenings (trans TV firsts) Recommended Reading: Juanio Bermudez de Castro, “Psycho Killers, Circus Freaks, Ordinary People” STEP 3: LOOKING QUEER Reception and Fandom Week 4 Queering Queer 2/11 Read: Alexander Doty, “There’s Something Queer Here” Possible in-class excerpts: Off the Straight and Narrow and/or Celluloid Closet 2/13 In-class episode and collective queering of Bewitched Night Screening: Golden Girls and Xena: Warrior Princess 2/15 Discussion of Wednesday’s screenings (fandoms and female “friendships”) Read: Elena Maris, “Hacking Xena: Technological Innovation and Queer Influence in the Production of Mainstream Television.” Recommended