Four years ago, I began to teach courses in the history and historiography of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and queer (LGBTQ) people. I did this not because I am a queer person, although I am, but because I am a queer scholar and I thought these courses were an important addition to the curriculum, particularly in the History department.
However in the past, fewer students register for these courses than for my other courses (which are usually over-enrolled), and subjective experience suggests that more students seem to want queer courses in the curriculum than actually want to be seen in them. I wondered why, and I wondered why the students who tended to sign up also tended to be students I already knew, or their friends. This prompted me to ask for advice from one of my seminars last fall, and they gave me important, sometimes conflicting, and very frank advice. So before you decide not to take my spring lecture course, AMST/HIST 213; WMST 215 “The Politics of Sex after 1968: Queering the American State,” I want to communicate the essence and outcome of this conversation.
It’s a queer course taught by a queer, feminist teacher who has a mildly leftist past. That is, as we historians say, a true fact. However, “you” are not required to be like “me.” All of you are welcomed, valued and respected in my classroom, as I hope all your professors make clear about their classrooms. An academic course is not a place where any person who wants to learn should be made to feel strange or ashamed for any reason (including, for example, being heterosexual or in the closet, or knowing little about the area of study). You do not need to know anything about theory, although you might be asked to learn. And to speak to the most frequently expressed concern I hear: you are not required to be political in this course, any more than you are required to be political in a government class. You also do not need to demonstrate your objectivity by being apolitical: I certainly won’t. Bring your own interests and concerns to class, and share them. As our discussions of the role of sex in politics will cross the spectrum from far left to far right over half a century, you should not be concerned that your intellectual and political interests, whatever they might be, are irrelevant or out of place.
I have also made two structural changes to the course that I hope will speak to practical concerns students have expressed to me since I last taught it in 2003. I reversed the title: thus the word “queer” will never appear on your transcript (as it is preceded by 30 characters) and cause parents or employers to ask sordid questions about your personal life. If you want people to know you are LGBT or Q, tell them yourself. Second, you may now take the course pass-fail, and the rigorousness of your effort can be accurately pegged to the level at which the course engages you: thus, you can do something new, something you are unsure about, with a teacher you don’t know, without worrying that your transcript will be blemished by your ambivalence or lack of previous knowledge. This also means I have provided you with perfect cover. If you are really concerned that people will link your presence in the course to a presumed sexual identity, you can just say, “Heck no – I was just looking for a credit/fail course!”
See you in the spring, and good luck with your pre-registration.
Leave a Reply