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Becoming Queer: Towards a Queer Epistemology of Queerness and Gender in Sociology

Alexander Niessen

Kommentar

Theories of gender and sexual identities have become a central element of sociological theorizing. As academia became more open to groups previously barred from participation in the study of society, a growing number of experiences and viewpoints has contributed to understanding society more comprehensively. Beyond being more attentive to real experiences of real people, the development of critical queer and gender theories has also offered a new methodology of critically assessing the ways in which we describe and understand the social world we live in. Throughout the semester, we will attempt to not only identify some of the crucial innovations in sociological theory and practice, but students will also have the opportunity to critically assess the epistemological implications of these shifts in their historical context. How has the study of gender and sexuality become so pronounced? How can we engage with research from a critical, intersectional, queer sensitive perspective? What are gaps in the way we theorize society, even if we aim at being more inclusive? How are the social institutions we take for granted connected to the ways in which we are describing the world? Students will have the opportunity to engage not only with queer and gender theories, and assess these theories from an intersectional perspective. Together, we will look at the way knowledge is constructed and what certain paradigms mean for the larger academic and societal contexts in which we operate. Eventually, this will not only add necessary context to the most pronounced social and academic debates, but it will also help to make our research more impactful, precise, and relevant to a world caught between turmoil and emancipation.

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