300841 Introduction to LGBTIQ + Studies (S) (SoSe 2023)

LGBTQ+ Studies, as we name it today, is a dynamic and interdisciplinary research field. This introductory course aims to offer an insight into the history of LGBTQ+ Studies and provide an overview of the main theoretical debates in the field.
The course is structured to allow multi-layered reading by utilizing sources in a variety of fields (literature, cinema, biographical/autobiographical narratives etc.) as well as theoretical discussions. Moreover, the literature we will focus on during the course covers different contexts, in particular the Middle East and Ottoman Empire, as well as the traditions of the Western thought.
The overview of the course can be framed as below:
• In the first sessions of the course, the fundamental concepts of the field such as gender and sexuality will be discussed, and then the history of sexuality will be investigated by looking at different contexts and periods regarding some guiding questions (How were sexualities discussed and socially constructed in different contexts, how the 19th century's medicalization shaped the sexual categories, etc).
• Later on, we will be focusing on the Stonewall era in which modern homosexual identities have been established and also gay and lesbian studies, the basis of the LGBTQ+ literature, has emerged.
• Afterwards, the question of how they changed and pluralized over time with the political LGBTQ+ movements will be asked, and queer theory and recent theoretical debates will be discussed.
At the end of the course, the participants will be familiar with a brief history of LGBTQ+ Studies and general topics, approaches, and central discussions in the field.