ENG 3931 Spring 2020 Della Gatta

This course considers the genre of LGBTQ Theatre that encompasses dramatic literature, theatre, performance sites, theory, narrative traditions, and themes. The course will focus on theatre and drama written and produced by and for the LGBTQ community from the last sixty years. We will address how representations of the LGBTQ community began to change in the 1960s and became prominent in the 1980s and 90s, interweaving influences from theatre history and cultural and political histories across the impact of the Stonewall Riots, the AIDS Crisis, and human rights initiatives. What is the relationship of LGBTQ identity to aesthetics and how do they inform the genre of LGBTQ Theatre? How has changing terminology and visibility affected depictions of LGBTQ characters? What is the relationship of structure and language to the genre of LGBTQ Theatre? Readings from gender, sexuality, and queer theory will accompany readings of primary texts.

The class will include primary and secondary texts by Gloria Anzaldúa, Judith Butler, Mart Crowley, David Henry Hwang, Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner, Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Cherríe Moraga, Peggy Shaw, Paula Vogel, Monique Wittig, and others.