In this course, we will consider representations of gender variance in the literary past—that is, literary representations that make up trans literary history. Representations are always subjective, and can only convey so many perspectives. For your first piece of writing, you will write a text of ~750 words describing an experience that has changed your understanding of transness—or of gender more broadly. The experience you choose does not have to be personal (though it can be); you may describe an experience of a piece of art, a film, a song, a Youtube clip, a comedy special, a meme, a historical (or current) event, a TikTok video, an object, etc.—it is entirely up to you! That said, please choose one experience for your piece of writing: in this course, we will work towards depth over breadth in our critical work. When it comes to critical writing, it is better to be specific and detailed in your ideas.
The first paragraph of your text should establish groundwork for your narrative account. How did you understand transness/gender prior to your experience?
Your second paragraph should describe the experience itself. Be as specific as possible in explaining what happened. What did you observe, (over)hear, smell, touch, taste, etc.? What affective or emotional responses did this experience evoke for you?
In your third paragraph, describe how this experience destabilized/changed your understanding of gender. Why did you choose to write about this particular experience? How does this experience inform or impact your understanding today?
In your fourth paragraph, consider how your experience results in a particular understanding of what “trans representation” means. What are the limits of this representation? Who does it include or exclude? How do you think others might have encountered this experience—and why? What assumptions must you make to answer such questions?
For your fifth and final paragraph, return to the course description. With your previous four paragraphs in mind, share some ideas/hypotheses you have about this course. What are curious about exploring? What makes you nervous? What kinds of gender representation do you expect to encounter? In the last part of your text, write a little bit about yourself and your relationship to reading and writing about gender and/or trasness—and please add anything else you’d like to share with me. As a community, we will reading one another’s writing over the course of the semester and workshop it. We will return to this introductory text later in the semester, with the option to share it.
Please format your text according to MLA guidelines. Submit a digital copy of your response on bCourses by 12p on Tuesday, 29 August. Following our grading contract, this assignment will be graded according to completion. “Complete” means that you have followed the above instructions and have written a detailed and thoughtful response.
(assignment adapted from Alex Brostoff & Marlena Gittleman)