Catalog Description

Prerequisite: Eligibility for ENGL 1A
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Survey course consisting of an introduction to and critical analysis of selected LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer) texts over a range of historical periods and genres, including essay, poetry, autobiography, short fiction, novel, and drama. Significant coverage of and emphasis on the cultural and historical contexts that shaped the production of LGBTIQ literature. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Define, identify, interpret and analyze LGBTIQ literature from pre-Stonewall to the present and explain its significance in the literary canon.
  • CSLO #2: Identify, interpret, and evaluate the historical, cultural and thematic contexts (social, legal, educational, religious, and political) of individual authors and texts in the following genres: poetry, drama, short story, novel, essay, graphic novel.
  • CSLO #3: Identify, interpret, and apply knowledge of literary devices to the analysis of LGBTIQ texts and communicate analyses, interpretations and critiques of texts in class discussion and in required written work.
  • CSLO #4: Conduct independent research in the historical and cultural contexts of individual authors and texts.

Effective Term

Fall 2017

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

A student completing English 16 will, through examinations and essays, be able to:
1. Define, identify, interpret and analyze LGBTIQ literature from pre-Stonewall to the present and explain its significance in the literary canon;
2. Identify, interpret, and evaluate the historical, cultural and thematic contexts (social, legal, educational, religious, and political) of individual authors and texts in the following genres: poetry, drama, short story, novel, essay, graphic novel;
3. Identify, interpret, and apply knowledge of literary devices to the analysis of LGBTIQ texts and communicate analyses, interpretations and critiques of texts in class discussion and in required written work;
4. Conduct independent research in the historical and cultural contexts of individual authors and texts.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - C2 Humanities
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 3B Humanities

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: ReQuest Activity (Instructor provides appropriate scaffolding activities in advance): Each student prepares a list of open-ended questions about an assigned text; One student begins by posing a question and calling on a volunteer to answer it; The volunteer must provide supporting evidence for the response; Following whole-class discussion of the response, the respondent then poses a new question and calls on a new volunteer to respond; Discussion continues until all students have asked and answered at least one question.
    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: 1. The midterm and/or final may include an essay component asking students to respond to a prompt of their choosing with a traditional, MLA-style literary analysis essay that includes a thesis supported by well-organized and -developed evidence analyzing and synthesizing course readings. Evaluative rubrics for such written assignments would address relevant objectives, including critical thinking, essay structure and organization, adherence to MLA format, grammar and mechanics, etc. 2. The midterm will be based on class readings. Students will be asked to analyze several quotations, which will be drawn from the readings and will reflect the issues, concerns and literary contributions of the authors. Some will be familiar because we will have discussed them in class; others may not have been discussed at length in class but should be recognizable because of the literary style they display or because of the issues or concerns they raise. For each quotation, you will identify the name of the author and the title of the work; then, you will analyze the quotation, pointing out its important literary features and its relation to the historical context. All quotations will require that you read analytically, noticing and explaining the author’s use of language (i.e. metaphor, allusion, figurative language, word choice, etc.) and connecting the ideas to important themes and issues of the author/period (e.g. gender roles, homophobia, the closet, HIV/AIDS, etc.). A very few of the points for the quotation section will be given for knowing the author and source of the quotation; most of the points will be given for your analysis of the quotation. The instructor will select 8-10 quotations from the list of twenty, from which students will choose 4-5 for analysis.
    • Projects
      • Example: For the final project, you will be responsible for identifying a topic and constructing a research question to pursue independently, which will culminate in a 5-7 page essay and presentation to the class, to include a minimum of three scholarly sources, in addition to the primary text(s). You may choose to focus on a particular author, genre, period, theme, etc.--the most important criteria are that you select a subject in which you are deeply interested and that you go beyond simple summary/overview to provide a thoughtful analysis of your subject, supported by textual evidence. In other words, you are responsible for advancing and supporting an appropriately narrow, interesting thesis (debatable claim) connected to the course material.
    • Other
      • Example: Students work in small groups of 4-5 to analyze and interpret assigned texts from multiple points of entry (literature circle roles include Summarizer, Discussion Director, Connector, Illuminator, and Investigator, and detailed instructions for each role are provided). Through discussion and comparison of their various approaches to the text, students in small groups negotiate textual meaning before moving on to a whole-class discussion of the small groups' conclusions.

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. ReQuest Activity (Instructor provides appropriate scaffolding activities in advance); Following a lecture, each student prepares a list of open-ended questions about an assigned text; One student begins by posing a question and calling on a volunteer to answer it; The volunteer must provide supporting evidence for the response; Following whole-class discussion of the response, the respondent then poses a new question and calls on a new volunteer to respond; Discussion continues until all students have asked and answered at least one question.
    2. Literature Circles: Students work in small groups of 4-5 to analyze and interpret assigned texts from multiple points of entry (literature circle roles include Summarizer, Discussion Director, Connector, Illuminator, and Investigator, and detailed instructions for each role are provided). Through discussion and comparison of their various approaches to the text, students in small groups negotiate textual meaning before moving on to a whole-class discussion of the small groups' conclusions.

    Distance Learning

    1. In the online environment, the instructor provides lecture notes and discussion prompts designed to elicit interpretive analysis of the texts in which students make claims and support them with persuasive textual evidence in well-reasoned and cohesively organized prose.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1) Read James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" and prepare to discuss/analyze ideas about masculinity in the context of David's struggle to reconcile his sexuality with his gender identity. 2) Read Adrienne Rich's "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence" and prepare to discuss/interpret her "Twenty-One Love Poems" as a poetic expression of the essay's lesbian/feminist ideas. 3) Read the short stories "The Things They Carried" and "What They Carried"; as you read, annotate so that you are prepared to discuss and raise questions about the stylistic device of listing. What does it suggest about the similarities and differences between soldiers and sufferers of AIDS? What makes it effective? 4) Read the graphic novel "Fun Home." Note the differences in portrayal of father and daughter, in terms of gender roles, awareness of identity, generational and gender differences. Consider the narrator's tone as she reveals her father's queerness and her own.

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1) Short in-class responses to the readings (e.g., analyzing the image of the crocus in Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex"). 2) Adaptation and performance of a scene from Tony Kushner's "Angels in America." 3) ReQuest Activity (Instructor provides appropriate scaffolding activities in advance): Each student prepares a list of open-ended questions about an assigned text; One student begins by posing a question and calling on a volunteer to answer it; The volunteer must provide supporting evidence for the response; Following whole-class discussion of the response, the respondent then poses a new question and calls on a new volunteer to respond; Discussion continues until all students have asked and answered at least one question. 4) Literature Circles: Students work in small groups of 4-5 to analyze and interpret assigned texts from multiple points of entry (literature circle roles include Summarizer, Discussion Director, Connector, Illuminator, and Investigator, and detailed instructions for each role are provided). Through discussion and comparison of their various approaches to the text, students in small groups negotiate textual meaning before moving on to a whole-class discussion of the small groups' conclusions.

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    Final research paper.

    Required Materials

    • The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader
      • Author: Abelove, Henry, Michèle Aina. Barale, and David M. Halperin
      • Publisher: New York: Routledge
      • Publication Date: 1993
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The Routledge Queer Studies Reader
      • Author: Hall, Donald E
      • Publisher: London: Routledge
      • Publication Date: 2013
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Stone Butch Blues
      • Author: Leslie Feinberg
      • Publisher: Firebrand
      • Publication Date: 1993
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Angels in America
      • Author: Tony Kushner
      • Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
      • Publication Date: 1992
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The Dream of a Common Language
      • Author: Adrienne Rich
      • Publisher: Norton
      • Publication Date: 1978
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.