Transnational Queer Mediamakng

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Transnational Queer Theory and Mediamaking: This course brings in conversation western queer theory and its Black, Indigenous, and Diasporic critiques with ethnographic accounts of LGBTQIA experiences from around the world. We will explore queer, quare, and kuaer theories to unsettle western-centric understandings of queerness and to gain an in-depth view of how gender pluralism manifests in non-western contexts. Beyond tackling LGBTQIA topics at large, we will discuss the ethics, politics, and controversies of cross-cultural queerness and queer media production. From performance artists to painters, sculptors, and poets; from fashion designers to photographers and filmmakers, we will apply course theories to understand queer media praxis—its openings, limitations, and ongoing questionings. We will learn how to “read,” write about, and produce media ourselves. Students will produce a public scholarship multimedia project informed by queer theory and praxis, that will include a film journal, an annotated Spotify Playlist, and a short (5-10 minutes) experimental film.