QS262: Introduction to Queer Studies1
Jane Sandberg2
This syllabus last revised 
1  Course details
•	CRN: 34061 
•	Number of Credits: 3 
•	Required textbook purchases: None. We will be using articles and books that you can access online from the Library and other sources. 
2  Course Description
Centering itself on activism and scholarship, this course examines homophobia’s and transphobia’s relationship with racism, colonialism, sexism, ableism, classism and other forms of oppression. Introduces key concepts, histories, and political frameworks within Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer political movements. This course specifically examines queer movements in the United States.
Taking WR121 before or in conjunction with this course is strongly recommended.
3  Office hours
Mondays
1pm-2:30pm in WH-143 (my office in the LBCC Library)
Other days
By appointment; feel free to email me to set something up
4  Difference, Power, and Discrimination
This course fulfills the Difference, Power, and Discrimination (DPD) requirement in the Baccalaureate Core. The DPD requirement engages students in the intellectual examination of the complexity of the structures, systems, and ideologies that sustain discrimination and the unequal distribution of power and resources in society. The unequal distribution of social, economic, and political power in the United States and in other countries is sustained through a variety of individual beliefs and institutional practices. These beliefs and practices have tended to obscure the origins and operations of social discrimination such that this unequal power distribution is often viewed as the natural order. Examination of DPD course material will enhance meaningful democratic participation in our diverse university community and our increasingly multicultural U.S. society. 
5  Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to do all the following: 
Queer Studies learning outcomes
•	Develop literacy in key terms and concepts within Queer Studies. 
•	Analyze issues of systemic power, privilege, and oppression. 
•	Analyze contemporary Queer movements and politics. 
•	Apply learning to contexts outside the classroom. 
DPD Learning Outcomes
•	Explain how difference is socially constructed. 
•	Using historical and contemporary examples, describe how perceived differences, combined with unequal distribution of power across economic, social, and political institutions, result in discrimination. 
•	Analyze ways in which the interactions of social categories, such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and age, are related to difference, power, and discrimination in the United States. 
6  Grading
Information about all assignments is on Moodle. I will provide rubrics that explain how I will grade your work in this class.
7  Accessibility Resources
LBCC is committed to inclusiveness and equal access to higher education. If you have approved accommodations through the Center for Accessibility Resources (CFAR) and would like to use your accommodations in the class, please talk to your instructor as soon as possible to discuss your needs. If you believe you may need accommodations but are not yet registered with CFAR, please visit the CFAR Website (http://linnbenton.edu/cfar) for steps on how to apply for services or call 541-917-4789.
8  Inclusivity Statement
I am very happy to have you in this class. I am committed to your right to learn, discuss, and collaborate in an environment that values you, regardless of your race, religion, (dis)ability, orientation, gender, sex, socioeconomic class status, neurodiversity, housing status, grades, personal opinion, or life experiences to date.
9  Resources
•	The Diversity Achievement Center (DAC) is a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe venue for completing homework, having interesting discussions, and attending events. Any student is welcome there, as long as they are committed to maintaining it as a “welcoming, safe, inclusive and culturally respectful place.” 
•	The Gender + Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is an activist student group that has effected some really impressive changes on this campus. If you want to be involved in this type of activism, or wish for a context where you can discuss a lot of these topics with your peers, the GSA might be a great organization for you to check out. 
•	Gender neutral bathrooms are available in (only) three buildings in our campus: 
•	On the first floor of Red Cedar Hall, near the CFAR and security offices 
•	On the first and second floors of North Santiam Hall 
•	On the first floor of the Calapooia Center, near the Business Office 
•	The LBCC Library is a good venue for studying and researching. We have a bunch of LGBTQ books, and can help you get access to articles you’ll need for completing assignments. We also have a pretty solid handle on the research process, and are more than happy to offer some tips. 
•	The Writing Center – located in the Learning Center – is very helpful whether or not you feel comfortable with your writing skills. They are particularly helpful in the early stages of your writing (e.g. they are pretty swell at helping you work through writer’s block), and also have a popular online portal known as the Online Writing Lab (OWL) where you can upload your writing samples for review. 
10  Schedule
All topics, readings, and assignments are listed on Moodle.
•	Week 1: Situating the class 
•	Week 2: Systemic oppression, Oregon history 
•	Week 3: Sexuality and gender as contested, constructed social categories 
•	Week 4: Colonialism, Queer understandings of borders and immigration 
•	Week 5: Queer understandings of policing, prisons, death 
•	Week 6: Visibility, Theory in the flesh 
•	Week 7: Healing knowledge and culturally specific knowledge 
•	Week 8: Queerness on the Internet 
•	Week 9: Queer activism and art 
•	Week 10: Other topics of interest 
•	Week 11: Finals week 

References
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[Anzaldúa, 1987]	Anzaldúa, G. (1987). How to tame a wild tongue. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
[Anzaldúa, 2009a]	Anzaldúa, G. (2009a). Border arte: Nepantla, el lugar de la frontera. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
[Anzaldúa, 2009b]	Anzaldúa, G. (2009b). El paisano is a bird of good omen. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
[Anzaldúa, 2009c]	Anzaldúa, G. (2009c). Let us be the healing of the wound: The Coyolxauhqui imperative: la sombra y el sueño. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
[Anzaldúa, 2009d]	Anzaldúa, G. (2009d). The new speakers. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
[Anzaldúa, 2009e]	Anzaldúa, G. (2009e). To(o) queer the writer- loca, escritora y chicana. In Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press.
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[Chang, 2013]	Chang, A. (2013). A non-native approach to decolonizing settler colonialism within Hawaii’s LGBT community.
[Chrystos, 1991]	Chrystos (1991). Askenet - meaning “raw” in my language. In Warland, B., editor, In-Versions: Writing by Dykes, Queers and Lesbians, pages 249–63. Press Gang, Vancouver.
[Combahee River Collective, 1977]	Combahee River Collective (1977). Statement. http://historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/combrivercoll.html.
[DasGupta, 2012]	DasGupta, D. (2012). Queering immigration: Perspectives on cross-movement organizing. S&F Online, 10.
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[Hemphill, 1992]	Hemphill, E. (1992). American wedding.  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53015.
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[Koyama, 2001]	Koyama, E. (2001). Interrogating the politics of commonality: Building a bisexual, trans, and intersex alliance. http://www.intersexinitiative.org/articles/yale-keynote.html.
[Lara, 2005]	Lara, I. (2005). Daughter of Coatlicue: an interview with Gloria Anzaldúa. In Entremundos/Between worlds.
[Lorde, a]	Lorde, A. Age, race, class, and sex. In Sister outsider.
[Lorde, b]	Lorde, A. The transformation of silence into language and action. In I am your sister.
[Lorde, c]	Lorde, A. Uses of the erotic. In Sister outsider.
[Lorde, 2009a]	Lorde, A. (2009a). Oberlin commencement speech. In I am your sister.
[Lorde, 2009b]	Lorde, A. (2009b). There is no hierarchy of oppression. In I am your sister.
[Lorde, 2009c]	Lorde, A. (2009c). The transformation of silence into language and action. In I am your sister.
[Lorde, 2009d]	Lorde, A. (2009d). Turning the beat around: Lesbian parenting 1986. In I am your sister.
[Park, 1998a]	Park, P. (1998a). Lessons for the homeland: A Korean queer activist examines Stonewall.  http://www.paulinepark.com/1998/07/lessons-for-the-homeland-a-korean-queer-activist-examines-stonewall.
[Park, 1998b]	Park, P. (1998b). Transgendering the academy.  http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/02/transgendering-the-academy/.
[Park, 2003]	Park, P. (2003). GenderPAC, the transgender rights movement and the perils of a post-identity politics paradigm.  http://www.paulinepark.com/2003/04/genderpac-the-transgender-rights-movement-and-the-perils-of-a-post-identity-politics-paradigm/.
[Park et  al., 2006]	Park, P., Wilkinson, W., and Gan, J. (2006). Transgendered Asian American perspectives on same-sex marriage.  http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/06/transgendered-asian-american-perspectives-on-same-sex-marriage/.
[Shah, 2012]	Shah, S. P. (2012). Sex work and queer politics in three acts. S&F Online, 10.
[Stern, ]	Stern, J. This is what pride looks like: Miss Major and the violence, poverty, and incarceration of low-income transgender women. S&F Online, 10.
[Stevenson and Broadus, 2016]	Stevenson, K. and Broadus, K. (2016). Capturing hate: new eyewitness videos provide new source of data on prevalence of transphobic violence. https://lab.witness.org/projects/transgender-violence/.
[Tsai, 2010]	Tsai, W.-H. S. (2010). Assimilating the queers: Representations of lesbians, gay men, bisexual, and transgender people in mainstream advertising. Advertising & Society Review, 11(1).