This course explores the history and theory of queer cinema through the lens of contemporary media studies. Rather than separating film from other media, we will study the ways in which queer cinema has always trafficked with the broader landscape of queer cultural production, including literature, television, art, and activist speech. The course will thus ultimately examine queerness as a question of aesthetic form: How is queerness be rendered through experiments in filmic color? Or sound and sonics? Does transgender cinema represent a distinct genre of film or has it been part of queer cinema from the beginning?

To better understand these questions, we will situate our study of queer cinema and media within the history of LGBTQIA + political struggle, both in the United States and globally. We will study, for example, film and video production during the American AIDS crisis and examine its relationship to queer activism. We’ll also ask after the political promise of platforms like TikTok and Instagram: Do they have the potential to build queer utopia? Has social media inherited or betrayed the radical political vision of older queer cinemas?

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 20

Prerequisites: None.

Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Typical Periods Offered: Spring

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered; Spring