Oral Presentations - Session 1D: UC 331
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
David Gilcrest
Faculty Mentor’s Department
English
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Countless stigmas and prejudices abound regarding gender and sexuality issues and the dichotomy between heterosexuality and homosexuality. Even as it has existed as an accepted part of various cultures across time and continents, it continues to go undiscussed and overlooked in many communities due to the fallacies and preconceptions surrounding it. Literature, however, provides an outlet through which one may explore same-sex relationships beyond the common stereotypes and misconceptions. Literature and fiction not only give the writer an opportunity to relate his or her personal or intimate experiences to the world, but also allow the reader a socially-accepted means to approach this difficult issue. Fiction can help reveal the realities behind same-sex love and relations and may put some of the stereotypes to rest.
Through an examination of some of the foundational works in the canon of Queer Studies and Queer Theory, such as Donald E. Hall's Queer Theories and novels such as Emily M. Danforth's The Miseducation of Cameron Post, I will be looking at the ways these works reveal the realities behind same-sex relationships and help dissolve preconceptions and issues surrounding the understanding of homosexuality and what it means to be "queer".
Category
Humanities
Straightening out Queer Stereotypes through Literature
Countless stigmas and prejudices abound regarding gender and sexuality issues and the dichotomy between heterosexuality and homosexuality. Even as it has existed as an accepted part of various cultures across time and continents, it continues to go undiscussed and overlooked in many communities due to the fallacies and preconceptions surrounding it. Literature, however, provides an outlet through which one may explore same-sex relationships beyond the common stereotypes and misconceptions. Literature and fiction not only give the writer an opportunity to relate his or her personal or intimate experiences to the world, but also allow the reader a socially-accepted means to approach this difficult issue. Fiction can help reveal the realities behind same-sex love and relations and may put some of the stereotypes to rest.
Through an examination of some of the foundational works in the canon of Queer Studies and Queer Theory, such as Donald E. Hall's Queer Theories and novels such as Emily M. Danforth's The Miseducation of Cameron Post, I will be looking at the ways these works reveal the realities behind same-sex relationships and help dissolve preconceptions and issues surrounding the understanding of homosexuality and what it means to be "queer".