DHUM 27A63 - "Gay": The Genealogy of a Western Identity

Gay: The Genealogy of a Western Identity explores how “gay” emerged as a distinct cultural and political identity in the modern West. Drawing on philosophy, history, literature, and queer theory, the course traces the genealogy of same-sex desire from antiquity through the rise of medical and legal categories in Europe and the USA, to the formation of modern gay subcultures, political movements, and aesthetics.

Engaging with Michel Foucault’s history of sexuality, Judith Butler’s theories of gender performativity, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s Epistemology of the Closet, and Didier Eribon’s critical sociology, students will interrogate the making of a specifically Western identity and its cultural forms. Alongside theoretical texts, we will study literary works from, to explore how gay worlds are imagined, represented, and contested.

The course will examine central themes such as gay melancholy, shame, masculinities, AIDS and activism, and the intersections of sexuality with nation, race, and class. Finally, we will turn to contemporary debates on homonormativity, homonationalism, and queer politics to consider possible gay futures: what remains of “gay” in an era of normalization, global queer alliances, and challenges to Western-centric models of identity?

While the course concentrates on the male genealogy of “gay” as a distinct identity, it does not exclude the importance of lesbian, queer women’s, or other LGBTQ+ perspectives. Students are encouraged to critically engage with the content, considering lesbian and feminist viewpoints.