RELS 204 Queering Religion
The project of queer theory is invested in destabilizing essentialist identity constructions, especially the links between gender, sexuality, and desire. Religious discourses have historically been a powerful force in buttressing such essentialist constructions of identity and thus have, in many instances, undermined the project of queer theory. Yet, a number of scholars have found queer theory, queer experiences, and/or queer identity useful lenses through which to engage with religious texts, practices, and communities. With course materials including scholarly readings, as well as films, documentaries, music, podcasts, comedy and visual images, we will pay particular attention to the lived aspects of queer engagements with religion. For instance, we will cover topics such as Judeo-Christian reinterpretations of Genesis to make room for same-sex marriage; conceptions of transgenderism in the time of the Prophet Muhammad; gender fluidity in iconography of the Buddhist boddhisatva, Kuan-yin; gender role mixing in Tantric Hindu ritual; and, Native American postcolonial approaches to HIV within the “two-spirit” community. Through these and other case studies, we will analyze how the intersection of religion and sexuality is inevitably entwined with questions of race, class, embodiment, nation, and post/coloniality.