‘Queer Marxism’ course coming to Cornell University next semester
The course will consider the possible union of queer and Marxist theory.
Students will study a dual influence, examining the effect of one theory on the other, and vice versa.
Cornell University students can take a course on “Queer Marxism” next semester that asks questions such as “Are queer theory and Marxism truly irreconcilable.”
The course description stated that the course will compare two visions of society that many have thought could not be joined.
“While queer studies emerged in part as a rejection of Marxism’s totalizing approach and Marxists have criticized the queer emphasis on individuals, this seminar explores the potential of bringing the two fields together,” it says.
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The course will not explore this possible union of the two theories by one taking over the other. Students will study a dual influence, examining the effect of one theory on the other, and vice versa.
“We will consider how queer critiques of reproductive futurism, racial capitalism, and homonationalism can transform the legacy of Marxist theory and practice,” the description says. “At the same time, we will examine Marxist notions of totality, reification, and value to re-envision the scope of queer politics.”
Students will further examine the principles of queer and marxist theory as they manifest in historical examples. “After covering these key Marxist and queer theoretical concepts, the seminar will turn to transnational Marxist debates on gender and sexuality in Weimar Germany and the Soviet Union,” the course says.
The university’s Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program is offering Queer Marxism. The program’s mission is to “to address some of the most important issues the world faces today,” particularly “by offering students the opportunity to study a wide range of fields from the perspectives of feminist and LGBTQIA critical analysis, in global and local contexts and with the purpose of promoting social justice.”
Other Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Programs courses students can take next semester include “Sexual Identities in the Media,” “Body Politics in African Literature, Cinema, and New Media,” and “Feminist Science Studies.”
Students of “Feminist Science Studies” will consider questions such as “How does gender, sexuality, race, and class matter in natural, medical, and technical sciences” and “How might orangutans, surgery, and digital imaging all be feminist subjects of interest.”
Campus Reform contacted Cornell University and the Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program for comment, asking what they hope students get from the course. Campus Reform also requested a syllabus or reading list for the course. This story will be updated accordingly.
