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Week 10 Lecture

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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.