ENGL 380, Masculinities in Literature, Fall 2013

Abstract

The course aims to introduce students to the key debates and concepts that have arisen with the development of an academic field of inquiry called 'masculinity studies.' We read various theoretical texts that we will use to apply to our own lives and gendered identities, as well as to films, non-fiction texts as well as selections of fiction. We will be asking questions such as: What are the problems inherent in the concepts woman, man, masculine, feminine, gay, lesbian, straight, transgender, bisexual and androgenous? What is the relationship of boyish to girlish? What happens to notions of the masculine and male sexuality in an era when public discourse begins to include voices of metrosexuals, transsexuals and polysexuals?