Week 10 Lecture

Page 1: Today's Plan

• Explain Exam Format

• Return to Butler

• Discuss Crip Theory

  • Return to discussion from the week on Feminist Disability Studies

• Review/Cover Postmodernism & Poststructuralist Theories

• Explore Queer Theory

  • Note: Judith Lorber and Victoria Bromley will be referenced, no assigned readings from them.

Page 2: Exam Overview

• Weight of Exam: 25% of final course mark

• Duration: 3-hour exam scheduled (typically 2 hours)

• Exam Date: December 19, 2024, at 9:00 AM, FNB 1250

• Structure: Two parts, each worth equal marks

• Important Instruction: Avoid repeating arguments/content across the exam.

Page 3: Part A of Exam

• Marks: 30 marks total; 10 marks per response

• Choices: Choose 3 out of 5 items

• Time: 1 hour plus planning time

• Response Requirements:

  • Define/explain the term/item or identify and elucidate the major ideas of a quote.

  • Situate the item within the broader text/lecture ideas or connect to another thinker's ideas.

  • Explain thoroughly with examples.

  • Suggestion: 3/4 page single spaced per answer.

Page 4: Part B of Exam

• Marks: 30 marks total; 15 marks per response

• Choices: Choose 2 out of 3 questions

• Time: 1 hour plus planning time

• Response Requirements:

  • Provide sustained/detailed analyses and examples from the course.

  • Suggestion: 1-1.5 pages single spaced per answer.

  • Encouragement: Good luck, exam review in the last class!

Page 5: Judith Butler's Concepts

• Key Topics: Grievability, Precarity, Intelligibility

• Quote from Butler (2004):

  • Questions on who counts as human and what makes a life grievable.

  • Discussion relates to global events, with sensitivity to appropriating real experiences for theoretical advancement.

Page 6: Crip Theory/Crip Studies Overview

• Core Ideas:

  • Challenges compulsory able-bodiedness and able-mindedness

  • Reclaims „crip“ from derogatory use

  • Encompasses a broad range of disability locations

  • Advocates for ‘crip’tical thinking, promoting cultural analysis of normative concepts

  • Emphasizes an intersectional approach, especially between queerness and disability

Page 7: Inclusivity of Crip Theory

• Understanding Crip Theory:

  • Challenges binary discourses of normal/deviant bodies and pleasures

  • Encourages solidarity across various disabilities and critical perspectives (Alison Kafer).

Page 8: Claiming 'Crip'

• Key Idea:

  • ‘Cripping’ disability studies involves acknowledging our shared embodied experiences

  • Highlights the need for collective identity without appropriating disability narratives.

Page 9: Concept of Queering

• Discussion Point:

  • Queering as a concept helps to position cripping and queering against normative practices and understandings.

Page 10: Systems of Exclusion

• Key Concept:

  • Compulsory able-bodiedness is akin to compulsory heterosexuality; both are systems reliant on exclusion.

  • Ideal states (ability, heterosexuality) are unattainable.

Page 11: Gender Production

• Butler's Argument:

  • Gender is produced through the repetition of norms, with no essence prior to performance.

  • The identity is constructed through performances, with no “doer behind the deed.”

Page 12: Identity Categories

• Butler on Identity:

  • Identity claims regulate and totalize individual experience, potentially obscuring diversity within categories (e.g., "lesbians").

Page 13: Encountering the 'Woman' Category

• Discussion:

  • Explore the 'constitutional outside' in relation to gender identity.

Page 14: The Nature of Binaries

• Understanding Binaries:

  • Binaries are mutually constitutive; the excluded 'other' is integral to identity.

  • Normal versus deviant operates through exclusion; individuals define themselves in opposition to the 'not' of their identity.

Page 15: Butler's Perspective on Identity

• Butler’s View:

  • Willing to identify as ‘lesbian’ but desires the meaning to remain ambiguous.

  • Constructs identity as politically engaged, emphasizing 'necessary trouble' within categories.

Page 16: Beginnings of Queer Theory

• Transition to Queer Theory:

  • Reflection on the origins of Pomo and Poststructuralism within Queer Theory.

Page 17: Understanding Postmodernism

• Question:

  • What does Postmodernism (Pomo) mean?

  • Exploration of its relation to Poststructuralism and Queer theory.

Page 18: Defining Postmodernism

• Nature of Pomo:

  • Postmodernism resists definitive explanations, paralleling Queer theory's nature.

  • Both eschew categorization, emphasizing fluid understanding.

Page 19: Visual Representation of Postmodernism

• Cultural Reference:

  • Images and cartoons reflect critical humor on Pomo and its critiques.

Page 20: Characteristics of Pomo/Poststructuralism

• Key Features:

  • Suspicion toward grand narratives and favors context, ambiguity, and uncertainty

  • Recognizes truth as relational and shaped by power dynamics.

• Queer Theory:

  • Mirrors Pomo questioning of the natural and normal; advocates for ambiguity.

Page 21: Pomo/Poststructuralism Summary

• At a Glance:

  • Marked by skepticism and the questioning of fixed references; critiques stability in the understanding of truth and objectivity.

Page 22: Contrast with Enlightenment Liberalism

• Distinction Made:

  • Truth viewed through power relations, denouncing the idea of a stable self; consciousness formed through actions.

Page 23: Deconstructing Binaries

• Crucial Argument:

  • Social structures based on binaries can be deconstructed to reveal power operations within oppositions.

Page 24: Examples of Binaries

• Thought Provocation:

  • Consider examples illustrating value-laden binaries within social structures.

Page 25: Feminist Humor and Identity Politics

• Feminist Hulk:

  • Playful critique of patriarchal values and a humorous take on identity politics.

Page 26: Incorporating Queer Theory

• Application of Queer Theory:

  • Engaging with Butler’s ideas to destabilize normal and deviant identity categories.

Page 27: Emergence of Queer Theory

• Historical Context:

  • Emerged in the 1990s; connects to Gay Liberation movement.

  • Understand the fluidity of the term "queer" as a positive reclamation.

Page 28: Gender Across Borders

• Visual Context:

  • Representation of queer theory within broader discussions on gender inclusivity.

Page 29: Discussion on Queer's Grammar

• Exploration Topic:

  • Engage with Barker and Scheele's insights on the critical interpretations of "queer" terminology.

Page 30: Resistance to Normativity

• Key Quote from Michael Warner:

  • “Queering” is resisting normative ideals in identity and behavior.

Page 31: Instabilities in Queer Theory

• Discussion Focus:

  • The fluid and unstable nature of relationships between gender, sex, and sexuality in queer theory.

Page 32: The Heterosexual Matrix

• Concept Illustration:

  • Understanding the biological and social constructs framing the 'Heterosexual Matrix'.

Page 33: Visual Representation

• Cultural Reference:

  • Continue exploring visual representations of queer and heterosexual constructs.

Page 34: Playful Engagement with Identity

• Comma of Focus:

  • Playful questioning of how identities around gender and sexuality are categorized; appreciate the instability of these identities and their political implications.

Page 35: Review and Critiques of Queer Theory

• Critical Evaluation:

  • Reflect on race, class, and other intersections within queer theory.

Page 36: Butler on Gender and Performance

• Recap of Key Ideas:

  • Understanding Butler’s perspective on gender as a consequence of regulatory norms; engagement with performativity theory.