LGBTQ+ YA LIT Literacy

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

How do LGBTQ youth learn to read, write, and transform the world? In this course, we will draw on intersectional queer and literacy studies frameworks to analyze recent LGBTQ Young Adult literature – paying special attention to how the genre reimagines queer and trans pasts, presents, and futures. In addition to analyzing literary works (often authored by adults for a youth audience), we will also analyze ways in which LGBTQ youth are employing digital media for activism, storytelling, and community-building purposes. We’ll connect with local educators and librarians who work with LGBTQ youth and consider how we can respond to the current cultural moment in which LGBTQ Young Adult Literature is burgeoning as a genre at the same time as queer and trans texts are increasingly being challenged and banned in K-12 schools. Along with writing analytical and personal responses to works of literature, students will also compose digital writing for public audiences in a genre of their choice, such as book reviews, book trailers, annotated book lists, teaching resources, editorial columns, activist videos, and/or educational policy memos.