Entry - 5 - Daily Grind and Future Plan
While procrastinating on reading my second book for this week, Siobhan Somerville's "Queering the Color Line", I thought to post about this teaching opportunity I want/am applying for in the Gender Studies department. They are looking for 4 instructors, two for the 101 course and one for a topics course (you come up with the syllabus) and another in Themes in Gender Study (which I am not 100% sure is about). These are for the upcoming summer courses that my department is offering. I am definitely interested in doing either the intro course or the Topics course, but am worried that my lack of proper teaching experience is going to put me on the bottom of the list (I hate when you need experience to get experience). Hopefully my enthusiasm (and lack of other applicants) will be enough to get me a shot to show my stuff. Since I am in this program predominately for teaching (rather than research) this would be an excellent opportunity to get my feet wet. I have been pulling syllabuses from old undergrad courses ( for readings and structures) and I think I have an idea for a topics course
Sexing the Dead (or How we stiff the stiffs)
The subtitle will probably not make it through but I think the title is sexy enough to grab some undergraduate attention. What I am hoping to formulate is a class centered on society's fascination with the dead (or rather the dead bodies of LGBT and POC). How are their bodies represented in media as gendered or sexed? How does science recognize or engage these dead/ inanimate beings? (investigating bodies with no speech - scientific racism - but how much agency did this bodies have prior?) . I want to then go into the recent fascination with the romantic horror genre and discuss sex and the (un)dead. YES there may be some TWILIGHT (sigh) but I will probably make them read the original Dracula and Frankenstein beforehand. I am going to have them discuss how the flesh is represented through these narratives and how these discourses are raced, gendered and made sexual. Who's bodies are desired? and Who's should be dead? And how do we discuss the dead's desire? I think it'd be a frighteningly good time :D <--I don't care how cheesey that is.
I would definitely layer the first half of the class with theory and the second half with novels and materials to discuss. Probably have them write two papers - nothing fancy. I would need to flesh out some good theory material (as the source materials are always easy to come by). The shitty thing is - they brought up the idea of offering these courses in the two week span that I am BUSY AS HELL. Yes I have time to go on LiveJournal and complain but you get the idea. I have to write a cover letter and provide a brief CV (and trust me it's going to be brief), but on top, since I do want to construct my own individualized course, I'd need to put together a outline of a syllabus as well - meaning I should at least have some core readings and fundamentals down. It is due this Friday (29) so I have about a week, but I have my first major paper for the PhD program due Monday (not too stressed but still can't shift focus), plus a brief paper due Weds, on top of the usual buttloads of reading that are always assigned (as well as getting prepped to do my larger final paper for my Race and Culture class). I need a giant dry erase board to keep track of these things. I think it'd help or make me extremely nervous.
oh and Fable III is coming out.....the other major hurdle.....oh boy. Wish me luck y'all