ENGL1732 · Complex Problems and Enduring Questions

Shifting Forms: Sexuality and Belonging in Modern Literature and Film

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

How does art shape or mediate the formation of (larger and smaller, mainstream and minority) political and social groups? How do the arts help define the public in a Republic? How do aesthetic objects shape minority communities, and their place in a larger social world? Can examining artists use of inherited forms illuminate the political and affective consequences of individuals banding into groups? Tracing representations of citizenship, political participation, and the nation-state since the late 19th century, and, on the other hand, queer film and literature (mainstream and avant-garde) from the same period, we will consider national narratives and national identity in Europe and the United States, and queer art and the formation of minority sexual cultures.