This course will familiarise students with Judith Butler's notion of the performative nature of gender, sexuality, and sexual identities. They will learn to apply her ideas about queerness to more literal and literary performances: contemporary queer drama in English. Texts from the UK, US, and Canada will provide students with a broad perspective on human nature, and how gender and sexuality interact with the socio-political context. Both 'classics' as well as less well-known plays, and a wide range of genres, will give students the opportunity to interactively experience the Other.

Reading and discussion of relevant theoretical texts; performed readings and discussion of significant passages of selected plays in class

Queer theory; contemporary queer drama in English (UK, US, Canada).

The final grade is an aggregate of ...20% Active participation in class: Come prepared (i.e. read the texts, do your research, think about things critically), participate in the discussions and the performed readings.30% Character Analysis: In-class student presentation of an in-depth critique of a character of your choice regarding their performance of gender and sexuality; write-up to be uploaded on Moodle and handed in as printed copy no later than two weeks after the presentation (pdf, 1500 words).50% SE-paper: Academic paper on a topic of your choice related to issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary drama, to be uploaded on Moodle and handed in as printed copy; deadline is February 29, 2024, 23:59 (pdf only, 4500 words).

See above.

Quantity and quality of task fulfillment; quantity and quality of theoretical literature used; quality of analysis, and quality of application of theoretical concepts and terminology.If a student fails one pillar of assessment (participation, character analysis, or paper), they fail the entire proseminar!