First Day of Class!

From the hallows of a modest college, andy writing and teaching —

For the "Evolution of the Queer," I would say that class went very well. I think the students thought that I was sophisticated (intellectual?) and tall (distinguished stature?) and imposing (intimidating?). I would say that they were apprehensive and nervous, but such is on the first day of school.

I showed "Dottie Gets Spanked" by Todd Haynes, always a class favorite, and speaks to the idea that desire is generated externally, from history and society, rather than produced internally, from a brain or a gene. It sparked discussion. The class is discussion-based, but today I lectured (Duchamp's "Fountain") and also riffed on a few of the readings. We did not have time for group work, but I gave them the handout for that, as well as the queer vocabulary handout, which I will give out weekly, with different codes and words in queer history and culture (e.g., fag girl). Don't ask.

But, with this gay class, I run the risk of sacrificing one of my most cherished theoretical apparatuses: marxism. What is called intersectional politics involves a concurrent analysis of a variety of different apparatuses of oppression. Not only sexuality, then, but also race and class and nation. This conversation about intersectionality — along with the vapid critique of "cultural appropriation," which is such an asinine critique (guess what: no one owns culture; the history of the arts — from music to painting — is all about cultural appropriation; indeed that is how culture is produced) that I almost dismiss all minority studies— these conversations seem to take the upmost time online for gen-zoomers.

I may post parts of the syllabus tomorrow (the reading list, assignments), which might be useful to folks who want to try to get into some of the material.

peace out, and out, andy p