General

Course Description

Why has it been possible to envision a gay or a queer but never a trans Renaissance? This course asks what it means to imagine histories of transness that extend back to the early modern period, centuries before the development of a sexological vocabulary for gender identity. Through a series of literary, historical, and theoretical readings, we ask: how did premodern subjects imagine gender variance? Who exactly was transitioning then, and what does it mean to understand them as trans? How does the early modern history of trans life converge with histories of racism, colonialism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia? How might we construct the history of cisness? We will consider together how early modern texts speak to the historical, theoretical, and political concerns that animate contemporary trans studies.

Required Texts (available at Bryn Mawr Bookstore)

·         - Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World and Other Writings (Penguin, 1994)

·         - John Donne: The Major Works, ed. John Carey (Oxford World's Classics, 2009)

·         - C. de Erauso, Lieutenant Nun, trans. Michele and Gabriel Stepto (Beacon Press, 1997)

·         - John Lyly, Galatea and Midas, ed. George Hunter and David Bevington (The Revels Plays, 2007)

·         - The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton, ed. William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen Fallon (The Modern Library, 2007)

Class Information

• Class Time: M/W 11:40-1:00
• Classroom: English House III
• My email: cgordon1@brynmawr.edu
• Office: Dalton 6

Office Hours

• In Person: Tuesdays, 9:00-12:00 in English House 210 (sign up at this Calendly link)
• And by appointment (email me if those times don't work)