WRTG 3020: Queer Rhetorics

Spring 2011

INSTRUCTOR: Megan Morrissey / SECTION: 94
TIME: T/TH: 5:00-6:15 / LOCATION: HLMS 191
OFFICE: ENVD 1B27H / OFFICE HOURS: T: 2:30-3:30
TH: 2:30-3:30
OFFICE PHONE: 303.492.7306 / EMAIL: ***

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Writing is a practice and a process, thus the "-ing" on the end of the word. In this class, we will focus on the inventing, the doing, and the revising--not as much on the finishing, the being done.

Our first challenge will be to unpack the concepts of "queer" and "rhetoric," to create working definitions of our subjects, definitions that will likely evolve over the course of the semester. We will consider and experiment with various kinds of texts including essays, literature, film, poetry, and theory, always remaining attentive to the points of intersection between these genres. The work we do will center around the following sorts of questions: What constitutes queerness? What is the nature of gender and sexuality? How is identity constructed by the body? How is the body itself a construct? What is the performative nature of embodiment? And how do all of these subjects come alive in our writing? In this course, writing will be a tool, a medium we use to engage our subjects and the world, however, we will also consider the nature of writing itself. Thus, the course will be both about queer writing and about queering our own writing.

As this class is dealing with a variety of sexual identities, expressions and performances it is imperative that we each consider the orientation from which we engage these topics and the manner in which we voice our thoughts on such matters in the public space of the classroom. While it is not my job to police your individual ideologies, it is my responsibility to create a space that is respectful and open to a variety of viewpoints. With that in mind it is my hope that each of us can speak to these issues in a meaningful way and truly learn from one another

CCHE CRITERIA:

The Colorado Commission for Higher Education (CCHE) is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and part of its purpose is to make sure that general education courses at colleges across the state are based on similar criteria in terms of content knowledge and skills. Writing courses fall under the content area of “Communication” and include skills in written communication, reading, and critical thinking. The following “Course Objectives” have been adapted from the CCHE requirements for an Advanced Writing Course, which WRTG 3020 is considered.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

•Rhetorical knowledge. We will make informed choices as we adapt our writing to the needs of our readers. Thus, we will work in various genres, always conscious of the context, purpose, and audience for our work. While we will be thinking mostly about written texts, we will also discuss and utilize visual rhetoric, thinking about the various ways that words and images interact.

•Writing process. We will work through the various stages of the writing process in a deliberate and reflective way, using workshopping, revision through multiple drafts, and self-evaluation. This will require a good deal of collaboration as we both write together and respond to each other’s writing.

•Writing conventions. As the course proceeds, we will examining the real effects grammar, syntax, and punctuation have on readers. We will think carefully about the choices we make as writers in all the different sorts of writing that we do with the goal of writing clear compositions and honing our own individual style.

•Content knowledge. As we work on each of the assignments of the course, we will discuss the issue of

audience, thinking about how to make our writing clear and effective to both specialized and general.

TEXTS and FILMS

Texts:

Bechedel, A. (2007). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. United States: Mariner Books

ISBN: 0618871713

Richardson, J. & Parnell, P. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. United States: Simon & Schuster

Children’s Publishing.

ISBN: 0689878451

Winterson, J. (1992). Written on the Body. New York: Vintage International.

ISBN: 0-679-74447-9

Selected readings and excerpts available on CU-Learn

Films:Gods and Monsters

Boys Don’t Cry

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

ONLINE CONTENT

There are links on the CU-Learn website that will take you to various assignments and readings that we will be doing throughout the semester. As we proceed, I may be uploading additional content, including activities, assignments, and other resources so be sure to check back every day.

COLLABORATION:

I encourage collaboration on any of the informal assignments in the class, and possibly larger assignments. If you have questions about the various ways collaboration can work, feel free to chat with me at any point.

ATTENDANCE*

Your attendance is a crucial component to the interactive nature of this course. Class begins promptly at the scheduled time and attendance is expected at every class. If you are more than 5 minutes late to class you will be marked tardy. Please note that three tardies will count as one absence. You are allowed to miss a total of three classes without penalty. After your third absence I will begin deducting 10 points from your final grade for each subsequent absence.

RESOURCES

You may find as the semester progresses you want some additional help with your writing. If this is the case, utilize the following resources:

  • The Writing Center: A great place to go to talk about ideas, improve your thesis or essay organization, or just generally work on your writing skills. Check the Writing Center website for more information about hours and services, or request an appointment online at:
  • The Research Center: A great place to develop your research topics and expand your ideas. Check out the library's PWR website for more information about service, and hours:

TECHNOLOGY:

Please turn off all cell phones, I-pods, etc. There should be no point during class time that you are using your these devices.

GRADING:

To complete this course successfully, you must attend class, complete assignments on time, and participate in class activities and discussions. In order for the class to work as a community, it is important that you complete all assigned work before each class session. I will not accept any assignments via email, nor will not accept assignments after the class period they are due unless you have a university approved absence. Also, please be advised that I do not offer extra credit.

Your grade for the course will be determined according to the following scale:

Queer Autobiography
  • Queer Working Definition
  • Final Paper
  • Writer’s Letter
/ 150
Literary Analysis Essay
  • Short Close Analysis Paper
  • Final Paper
  • Writer’s Letter
/ 200
Illustrated Argumentative Essay
  • Visual Component
  • Written Component
  • Writer’s letter
/ 250
Worksheets (3 @50 pts each) / 150
Queer Current Event / 100
Class Discussion Questions (Turned in 5 times @ 20pts each) / 100
Informal Writing Assignments and participation / 50
Total: 1000

Letter Grades will be calculated as follows:

A1000-933C765-733

A-932-900C-732-700

B+899-866D+699-666

B865-833D665-633

B-832-800D-632-600

C+799-766F599-0

(See the Assessment Criteria On-Line for a more detailed description of the criteria I use to determine grades.)

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:

Queer Autobiography (150 pt):

This assignment will begin with a 1-page working definition of the word “queer.”You will then further investigate the concept of “queer” by writing a creative non-fiction essay. This will be a narrative account of yourself, a story (or series of stories) that reflects upon who you are (as a person, as a writer, as a thinker, as an activist, etc.). The word “queer” in “queer autobiography” suggests that your work should either explore the concept of what it is to bequeer or what it is to writequeerly. Thus, you don’t necessarily have to identify as queer to write a queer autobiography. You could, instead, queer (as a verb) the genre of creative non-fiction or autobiography by approaching it in a novel or unusual way. The final paper should be an adequate length to explore your ideas fully (around 5 pages)

Literary Analysis Essay (200 pt)

You’ll begin preparation for this paper by writing a short close-analysis paper (2 pages/500 words), which you’ll expand into a full analytical essay. You will offer a critical reading of one of the texts we’ve discussed in class by choosing a topic or theme that interests you and presenting an analysis of what the text is attempting to do with relation to that theme. A “text” can be any of the films, essays, novels, poems, etc. that we’ve discussed during the course. The final paper should be of an adequate length to explore your critical reading fully, or around 6 pages.

Illustrated Argumentative Essay (250 pt):

This project will be the culmination of everything you've done in class thus far. The goal of this project is to investigate one of the important subjects of this course. You will start by choosing a specific issues or topic that has arisen for you during the semester. You are welcome to incorporate literary analysis and personal anecdotes into this piece, but unlike other papers, this paper will draw on outside research about your subject. Your final project will have two components, a written component and a visual component. Since this is an argumentative essay, you will want to make sure that both your written and visual elements clearly support and contribute to your argument, whatever that might be. You may collaborate on this project if you’d like, although understand that each person in your group must be somewhat involved in every aspect of the final product (i.e. don’t have one person just do the visual part and the other just do the written part). This final project takes the place of a final exam and should be around 7-8 well written pages, double-spaced.

Worksheets (150 pt):

As a tool to help focus our discussions and help you generate ideas for your longer papers, there will be a number of worksheets due during the semester.These assignments will generally ask you to carefully engage with key themes in the different films we will watch.A good worksheet will be detailed and in depth rather than more general and covering a lot of ground

Queer Current Event (100 pt):

As we begin to form a better idea of what queer means and what queer looks like you will be asked to look around you and identify a current event or issue in our local or global community that speaks to some of these topics and themes. To complete this assignment you will prepare a 2 page explanation of how this current event illuminates something about the topic of queer rhetorics and what the implications for this might be. You will also email me a link that details this current event for me to post, and you will present a brief 4-5 minute explanation of your analysis to the class.

Class Discussion Question (100 pt):

On the days that you have reading for homework you will have the option of writing discussion questions to turn into me. Throughout the semester you will turn in 5 sets of discussion questions (Each set will contain 5 questions). You may turn these in whenever you like as long as it is on a “DQ” day. While these may or may not be used in class for the purposes of discussion, they should serve as a way for you to engage with the course material in a meaningful way. These questions should be challenging and should demonstrate a deeper level of critical inquiry than simply asking for definitions, clarifications etc.

Informal Writing and Participation (50 pt):

This is a collaborative course, focusing heavily on discussion and workshopping. The class will be a cooperative learning experience, a true intellectual community. And so, you and your writing are, in a very real sense, the primary texts for this course. Because of this, attendance, participation and actively engaging informal writing assignments will be a valuable component of your final grade.

UNIVERSITY WIDE POLICIES

Disabilities*

If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322,

Religious Observances*

Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or required attendance. In this class, I ask that you contact me at least one week ahead of the date(s) that you will be absent so that we can discuss any assignments/class material that you will miss.

Classroom Behavior*

Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at: and at

Discrimination and Harassment*

The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment, the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships apply to all

students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual

orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at

The Honor Code*

All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at and at

Daily Schedule *Please note that this calendar is subject to change and assignments may be modified or added at my discretion based on student and classroom needs

Note: You will need to check your CU-LEARN account on a regular basis for announcements and updates to the class schedule.Also, please be certain that you print any necessary documents from the website prior to coming to class.

DATE / TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION / READING ASSIGNMENTS DUE
(What you should come to class having done)
Week 1 / COURSE INTRODUCTION
Tuesday 1/11 / Course Introduction
Thursday 1/13 / Constructing Normativity (Heteronormative/Homonormative)
Taboo Episode: Sworn Virgins /
  • DUE: Queer Working Definitions (to turn in)

Week 2 / UNIT 1: CONSTRUCTIONS
CONSTRUCTING THE FOUNDATIONS
Tuesday1/18 / What is Queer Theory
Introduce Queer Autobiography
DQ /
  • Jagose, “Introduction and Theorizing same-sex desire” (CU-Learn)

Thursday 1/20 / Presentation from GLBTQ Center
DQ /
  • Jagose, “Queer” (CU-Learn)

Week 3 / CONSTRUCTING NORMS AND MARGINS
Tuesday 1/25 / Film: Gods and Monsters
DQ /
  • Cohen, “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)” (CU-Learn)

Thursday 1/27 / Film: Gods and Monsters
DQ /
  • Benshoff, “The Monster and the Homosexual” (CU-Learn)

Week 4 / CONSTRUCTING AND USING A QUEER LENS
Tuesday 2/1 / Discuss Film
Using queer theory as an analytic tool
DQ /
  • Berlant & Warner “What does queer theory teach us about X?” (CU-Learn)
  • DUE: Worksheet #1 (Interview with a Vampire) (to turn in)

Thursday 2/3 / Constructing Queer Spaces
DQ /
  • Link, “I am not queer” (CU-Learn)
  • DUE: Queer Autobiography Intro Paragraph (to workshop in class)

Week 5 / CONSTRUCTING QUEER WRITING
Tuesday 2/8 / Queering the common (nursery rhymes)
DQ /
  • Sexton, selection from “Transformations” and Grimm’s Fairytales (CU-Learn)

Thursday 2/10 / Individual Workshopping of papers /
  • DUE: Complete rough draft of queer autobiography draft (Bring 1 copy to workshop in class)

Week 6 / UNIT 2: DECONSTRUCTIONS
DECONSTRUCTING THE NORMS
Tuesday 2/15 / TBA /
  • DUE: FINAL of Queer Autobiography and Writer’s Letter (to turn in)

Thursday 2/17 / Introduce Literary Analysis and Close Analysis
DQ /
  • Richardson, “And Tango Makes 3” (not available online)

Week 7 / DECONSTRUCTING GENDER THROUGH SUBVERSION
Tuesday 2/22 / Film: Boys Don’t Cry /
  • Background Readings on Brandon Teena

Thursday 2/24 / Film: Boys Don’t Cry
DQ-Film
Week 8 / DECONSTRUCTION GENDER THROUGH AMBIGUITY
Tuesday 3/1 / Reading Day
Respond to Reading Questions Online
DQ /
  • Winterson (pgs. 1-111)
  • DUE: Worksheet # 2 (Boys Don’t Cry) (to turn in)

Thursday 3/3 / Reading Day
Respond to Reading Questions Online
DQ /
  • Winterson (pgs. 111-190)

Week 9 / DECONSTRUCTING GENDER IN GENERAL
Tuesday 3/8 / Winterson: Queering Gender and Gender Ambiguity
Thursday 3/10 / Workshop Close Analysis Papers /
  • DUE: Close Reading Assignment
(to workshop in class)
Week 10 / DECONSTRUCTING OUR OWN TEXT
Tuesday3/15 / Paper Workshops /
  • DUE: Complete Rough Draft of Literary Analysis(Bring 1 copy to workshop in class)

Thursday 3/17 / Conferences /
  • Sign up to get some feedback on your Literary Analysis Assignment

Week 11 / SPRING BREAK
Tuesday 3/22 / Spring Break: No Class /
  • Be reading Fun Home
  • Be working on Literary Analysis

Thursday 3/24 / Spring Break: No Class /
  • Be Reading Fun Home
  • Be working on Literary Analysis

Week 12 / UNIT 3: RECONSTRUCTIONS
RECONSTRUCTING CULTURAL NORMS
Tuesday 3/29 / TBA /
  • DUE: FINAL of Literary Analysis Paper and Writer’s Letter (to turn in)

Thursday 3/11 / Discussion of Fun Home
Introduce Illustrated Argumentative Analysis
DQ /
  • Finish Reading Fun Home

Week 13 / RECONSTRUCTING GENDER
AND GENDERED PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 4/5 / Film: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
DQ /
  • Butler, “Imitation and Gender Subversion” (CU-Learn)

Thursday 4/7 / Film: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
DQ-Film /
  • DUE: Part 1 of Illustrated Argumentative Analysis (Sketch/Plan/Bibliography) (to turn in)

Week 14 / RECONSTRUCTING GENDER
AND GENDERED PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 4/12 / Conferences /
  • DUE: Worksheet #3: (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) (to turn in)
  • Sign up to get some feedback on your Illustrated Argumentative Analysis Plan

Thursday 4/14 / Research/Writing Day
Week 15 / RECONSTRUCTING GENDER AND GENDERED PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 4/19 / Workshop Rough Drafts /
  • DUE: Complete Rough Draft of Illustrated Argumentative Analysis
(Bring 1 copy to workshop in class)
Thursday 4/21 / Research/Writing Day/Peer Review Day
Week 16 / RECONSTRUCTING GENDER AND GENDERED PERFORMANCES
Tuesday 4/26 / Final Project Presentations /
  • DUE: Final Project and Writer’s Letter (to turn in)

Thursday 4/28 / Final Project Presentations /
  • DUE: Final Project and Writer’s Letter (to turn in)

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER BREAK!