This class is a multimedia introduction to transgender studies. Students will get to know the transgender studies field as well as the structural issues transgender people face. The class programme is structured around the following life moments that have been discussed and identified by transgender studies scholars: giving birth and being born, transitioning and the (self-)identification with monstrosity, gender revolution and transgender rage, and finally, the dignity of trans people in death and the poetics of transness. A multitude of media sources and cultural texts will be made available to all students including movies, memoirs, artistic clips, historical introductions, podcasts, poetry, and chat books.
Admission and Expectations
- I look forward to welcoming a variety of students. Due to high interest in the course and to facilitate a fair distribution of spots, please write me an email (kempen@uni-potsdam.de) with a few sentences describing your interest in the course. You can get creative, too, if you want. Queer students, students of colour, and disabled students will be prioritised in the admission process.
- For your own and future benefit and as part of an active participation in this course you will be asked to submit a short summary for 6 texts from the syllabus. This way, you will leave this class with your own notes and thoughts on crucial texts in the field of Transgender Studies. I will support you with guiding questions and with formatting. Your summaries will not be graded.
- Kursleiter:in: Claude Kempen