Sém. Ang II/TC : Queer Classics

Contenu

Long proscribed as being 'against nature', sexual relations between men remained illegal until 1962 in the United States and 1967 in Britain, and it wasn’t until the 21st century that same-sex marriage became legal. At the same time, ‘inversion’ (the idea of a woman’s soul trapped in a man’s body), ‘sapphism’ and ‘homosexuality’ became newly available models for non-heteronormative identity toward the end of the 19th century, culminating with Oscar Wilde’s trial in 1895, which was also one of the first times the term ‘queer’ was used, pejoratively, to identify gays and lesbians. The fact that it was a writer who helped constitute modern codes of homosexuality should come as no surprise. From Plato to Shakespeare, Sappho to Kate Chopin, literary texts have long represented same-sex desire as an open secret, helping the LGBT community become more socially accepted and assert its rights, notably by reclaiming the ‘queer’ label starting in the 1980s. Drawing on seminal essays in queer theory and criticism by Plato, Freud, Foucault, Susan Sontag, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler, and others, this seminar will explore some of the links between fiction writing and non heteronormative sexuality and identity in 20th and early 21st century British and American texts, touching upon a variety of themes and approaches, including male and female homosexuality, but also heterosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality, masculinity, intersectionality, homophobia and racism. Several of these texts, starting with E.M. Forster’s Maurice were self-censored or banned yet all are today considered as ‘queer classics.’ This begs a variety of questions: what constitutes a classic? Are gender and sexuality important when defining a literary text? Is there such a thing as a "queer" style or aesthetic? Isn’t it counterproductive to canonize norm-breaking works? And how do you factor in other markers of identity, including race and class?