Skip to main content
Department of English
Search
Log in
Navigation
About
Current Office Hours
Diversity Resources
English Library
Faculty Statement Archives
Internal Dept Resources
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
University Writing Program
Video Guides & Worksheets
Visit us on Facebook
Major/Minor in English
Advising
Creative Writing Application
Honors Program
Internships
Literary Magazines
Major Requirements Guide & FAQ
Minor Requirements
Study Abroad
Why Major in English?
MFA in Creative Writing
Admissions
Events, Prizes, and Resources
MFA Program Faculty
Newly Admitted Grad Students
Resources
Ph.D. in Literature
About
Admissions
Newly Admitted Grad Students
PhD Alumni Directory
Resources
Courses & Schedules
People
News & Events
Off the Syllabus Podcast
Recent News
Contests
Contest Winners
Previous Contest Winners
Newsletters
You are here
Home
»
Courses & Schedules
English 165 - Fall, 2012
Topics in Poetry
Topic: The Poetry of Same-Sex Love and Gender Transgression
Class Information
Instructor:
Freeman, Elizabeth
CRN:
43456
Time:
TR 10:30-11:50
Location:
229 Wellman
Description
How do modern poets engage with a tradition of same-sex love and gender transgression in Western literature that goes back at least as far as Sappho and Plato? Is there an LGBTQ tradition in modern poetry? How does poetic form encode “the love that dare not speak its name� What is queer reading? What role does poetry have in social change? This course will introduce students to reading poetry and to a range of poets whose work engages with same-sex love and gender transgression. We will examine the poets in terms of both the sources they draw upon (Sappho, Plato, Ovid, the Bible, Shakespeare, and so on) and their own interrelation. We will also examine the way that form “expresses†erotic energies that may not be manifest as content, and the transformations in form itself as poetry begins to be linked to politics.
Grading
Probably:
Short paper 20%
Long paper 25%
Participation 20%
Final Exam 20%
Quizzes 15%
Texts
Leaves of Grass (1855 Edition)
, Walt Whitman
Tender Buttons
, Gertrude Stein
Howl
, Allen Ginsberg
Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose
, Adrienne Rich
My Alexandria
, Mark Doty
Bird Eating Bird
, Kristin Naca