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Department of Cultural Studies
AMERICAN STUDIES

Out of the Closet, into the Archive: The Archival Impulse of Queer Literature

Course Information

Nr. Name Type Time Room Lecturer
154667 Out of the Closet, into the Archive: The Archival Impulse of Queer Literature 2 HS We 14:15 - 15:45 R. 0.406 Helm

LGBT+ people, by virtue of historical erasure, have a tenuous relationship with the official archive and therefore must invent counter archives of their own. According to queer theorist Jack Halberstam, the queer archive is “not simply a repository” but also a resource for future generations of queers, “a theory of cultural relevance, a construction of collective memory, and a complex record of queer activity.” This course assembles six authors – Christopher Isherwood, John Rechy, Audre Lorde, Harvey Fierstein, Tony Kushner, and Andrea Lawlor – and examines them in their dual role as literary artists and queer archivists. We will adopt a capacious understanding of the archive to analyze the afterlives of their texts in podcasts, mixtapes, radio broadcasts, video games, and multimedia performance.

Matthew Helm is a visiting instructor from the University of Iowa.

Modules

Lehramtsstudiengänge

LABG G HRG/HRSGe GyGe/BK SP
2009 703, 704 602 602, 701, 702 703
2016 602, 703, 704 602 602, 701, 702 703

Angewandte Sprachwissenschaften &
Angewandte Literatur-/Kulturwissenschaften:

PO B.A.ALK B.A.AS M.A.ALK M.A.AS
PO ab WS 16/17 Kern: 6ac, 7abc, 8a
Komp: 3abcd, 4ab
Kern: 6bc
Komp: 4a
1abcd, 2abc, 3b, 4d 2ab
PO ab WS 21/22 Kern: 6ac, 7abc, 8a
Komp: 3abcd, 4ab
Kern: 6bc
Komp: 4a
1abc, 2abc, 3b, 4ac 2ab

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