Art History: The Trans Tipping Point

Advanced seminar for Art History majors. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisites: Six hours of 2000-level Art History, including three hours in the area of the seminar; minimum Junior standing.

Prereqs: 6 hrs. of 2000-level Art History including 3 hours in the area of the seminar, minimum Jr. standing PACE students by permission and override

In June of 2014, trans actress and star of Orange Is the New Black Laverne Cox graced the cover of Time magazine for the article that coined our current moment as "The Transgender Tipping Point: America's Next Civil Rights Frontier." Authored by Katy Steinmetz and photographed by Gillian Laub, the cover story positioned America as being "in transition". It argued that one year after gay marriage was legalized, we had moved on to the next civil rights battle. Over the last decades, trans rights have been inextricably bound up with visual culture. This course delves into the complex interconnection between visual culture and trans rights during the tumultuous decades up to and evolving since the Trans Tipping Point.

Students will be expected to critically and creatively engage with assigned course materials, conduct independent research, and engage in class discussions. This course combines lecture and discussion formats. Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours per week on coursework outside class, with additional time for more extensive research projects. Assigned course readings, videos, podcasts, etc., will be distributed via the course platform. Further research may be done outside these materials as determined by research projects.

Grades will be based on attendance and participation, writing assignments, research, and possibly quizzes, students' overall collegiality, willingness to push themselves scholastically, and intellectual risk-taking.