In this seminar, we will investigate how literary representations of sex and gender nonconformity across various print media affirmed, challenged, and undermined conventional notions of kinship in the 19th century U.S. Students will explore how different literary genres expanded and/or restricted possibilities for alternate kinship structures and senses of belonging. Drawing on recent theoretical approaches from critical kinship studies, we will analyze to what extent non-normative representations of sex and gender challenged traditional family structures and with that, notions of "natural" and national affiliation. Our focus will be on texts by and about individuals whose identities and/or affiliations transgressed the gender and sexual binaries of their time.
Readings will include but are not limited to: newspaper clippings on female husbands, queer short stories, Cecil Dreeme(1861) by Theodore Winthrop, the fugitive slave narrative Running A Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860) by William and Ellen Craft, as well as Julia Ward Howe's posthumously published book manuscript The Hermaphrodite (2004). Through close readings, digital archival research, and seminar discussions, students will: a) develop an intersectional understanding of the revolutionary potential and societal limitations of 19th century discourses on sex and gender variance; b) sharpen their analytical skills by engaging with critical kinship studies; c) gain deeper insights into the cultural construction of kinship in the 19th century U.S.
By the end of this seminar, students will have developed a more nuanced understanding of how literature can both reflect and challenge societal norms, and how alternative kinship structures have been imagined and negotiated throughout history.
Required Reading: most texts are uploaded on Moodle. Students will need to get their own copy of Theodore Winthrop's Cecil Dreeme. Students will also need to get their own copy of Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft—please note that there is a free digital copy of this book on Project Gutenberg; the link for that is on Moodle. Students will also need to get their own copy of Julia Ward Howe's The Hermaphrodite; please note that a digital copy of the book is available for free through the university library; there's a link on Moodle for that, too. |
