ASIAN 4425 - [Sexuality, Power, Belief: Thailand in Contrast]

(crosslisted) FGSS 4415, LGBT 4425
(GB) (CA-AS)

Spring. Next offered 2016-2017. 4 credits.

Co-meets with ASIAN 6625/FGSS 6625/LGBT 6625.

A. Fuhrmann.

This course takes as its main cases narrative and visual representations of sexuality and desire in Thailand—as well as in the global imaginary of the country— and investigates these in regional and transnational comparison. Beginning with seminal historical cases, it moves to a focus on key questions regarding sexuality, embodiment, and desire and how these are linked to new modes of governance as well as to forms of belief in the contemporary public sphere. It brings Thai visual and print media materials into conversation with contemporary writing from feminist and queer theory, critical race studies, critiques of liberalism, Buddhist studies, visual studies, and affect theory. The course provides a rigorous introduction to critical approaches in gender and sexuality studies. Students have the opportunity to develop their own research projects that may focus also on different geographic regions. (LL)