ENG260

Description

During the eighteenth century, gender and sexual identity became classified and policed while, at the same time, emergent queer and trans identities multiplied. The newly rigid system of gender binaries and the strict alignment of sexuality emerged alongside the economic and cultural shifts of the period: gender and sexual identities were formed within the global context of women's legal subjugation, labor and colonial exploitation, and chattel slavery. Less prescriptive gender and sexual identities evolved during this time although they became increasingly marginalized and pathologized over the course of the century. We will explore gender and sexual identity within the eighteenth century through the letters of Anne Lister; narratives from Jupiter Hammon and Charlotte Charke; novels, such as Sarah Scott's Millenium Hall and The Woman of Colour; and poetry. To understand eighteenth-century historical and cultural contexts, we will take up current theories about the construction of subjectivity, sexuality and gender. For English majors, this course satisfies the D-2 requirement. For English minors, this course counts as a 200-level English seminar.