Queer Theory/Queer Lives, Spring 2006 (Mays/Erbaugh)
This exam is worth 20% of your grade. You will take the exam on Monday, May 8 at 5:30pm. You will have the whole final exam period (2 hours) to write the exam. You are allowed to bring with you one 3x5 or 5x7 card with notes for yourself. You do not need a blue book. If you have any questions, please ask via email or in class. Have a good week.
1. Drawing on the articles by Ferguson and/or Johnson, how does Marlon Riggs' Tongues Untied challenge dominant portrayals of black masculinity?
2. Riggs' film closes with the phrase, "black men loving black men is the revolutionary act." Why does he say this (or what does he mean by it)?
3. Explain what Prosser means by "narrativity of bodies."
4. What is Jordon Johnson's area of scholarly focus? Give an example from Jordon's talk that offers insight in this area.
5. In Larsen's novel Passing, how do the three main women characters differently represent passing bodies?
6. According to J. Gamson, what is the "queer dilemma" (in the context of social movements/identity politics)?
7. Why does Wittig believe "lesbians are not women?"
8. From the class discussion on Freud, what claims does Freud make about how male and female people come to understand themselves when they first become sexually self-conscious?
9. Based on class discussion, how can the phallus operate differently from the penis in heterosexual sex acts?
10. What is Stoltenberg asking men to do in inviting them to become "erotic traitors to male supremacy?" Expanding on Stoltenberg's concept, is it possible to become an erotic traitor to heteronormativity? If so, how? If not, why not?
11. Drawing on Clare's book and Samuels' article (and/or other articles on disability), identify one way that experiences of disability/ableism are similar to experiences of queerness/homophobia, and one way that they are different.
1. What strategies does Piper employ to deal with those who imply she is passing for white/black? How does this relate to Sedgwick's Epistemology of the Closet? In your essay refer to one other source in addition to Piper and Sedgwick.
2. How does queerness complicate dominant approaches to intimate partner violence? In your essay make reference to at least two articles, lectures or other texts discussed in class.