WGS 246L: Queer Asia(n)

What's queer about Asia? What's Asian about queer? This class introduces students to key theoretical problems and empirical issues concerning LGBTQ+ life across Asia and Asian diaspora. We will examine the intersecting webs of forces that condition queer Asia as space, experience, and method: cis-heteropatriarchy, nationalism, regionalism, colonialism, orientalism, neoliberalism, and authoritarianism. Taking an expansive view of Asia and Asian-ness and using a global Asia framework to bridge area and ethnic studies and emphasize connections between regions. LGBTQ+ issues under examination include kinship practices, media representations, community activism, gay and transgender tourism, and international development. This class fulfills the International Diversity requirement.