FRIT 37.30 FQZ Feminist Queer Zones
FQZ Feminist Queer Zones provides in-depth study of the exceptional richness of feminist and queer traditions in global francophone cultures. From nineteenth-century revolutionaries to the mid-twentieth century’s first-wave feminists; from reproductive rights and women’s suffrage to the explosive intersectionality of race, capitalism, post/colonialism, and feminism; the books read in this class help us understand sexuality, gender, and identity as they evolve over time and across historical, political, and sociocultural formations. The texts open up POROUS ZONES—open fields and fluid sites of change, exchange, and interchange—that allow for various other forms of alternative thinking.
Along with full book-length texts by Louise Michel, Simone de Beauvoir, Monique Wittig, Anne Garréta, and Françoise Vergès, FQZ seeks to bridge the gap not only between theory and action, but also between reading and writing, and between art and life. We will participate in a unique pleasure-taking act—the opportunity to read single, long, complex texts over an extended period of time, sometimes spanning many weeks. By valuing slowness, leisure, and depth over speed, anxiety, and breadth, will have the opportunity to dwell with thinkers and writers long enough to do begin doing honor and justice to their life and work. A progression of alternating short creative and critical assignments will provide the framework for a hybrid final project that will represent a culminating multimedia work of personal-creative criticism.
All readings and discussions are conducted in English. No prior knowledge or pre-requisites necessary. Readings, written assignments, and x-hours are offered in French for students seeking credit for the major or minor in French.
Department-Specific Course Categories
French and Italian Languages and Literatures