I think that when I entered this course, I expected a lot from it and also not much at all. I had alluded to it in my first reflection at the start of the course, but I feel like I have grown up in an era in which most attempts I saw to bridge out to queer youths feel stupid and shallow. By the time I had a clear image of what abandoning a cis-heteronormative binary entailed, enough years had passed that Obergefell v. Hodges had passed, and rainbow capitalism and LGBTQ+ assimilationism movements had grown. I went into this course with a lot of pessimism, even though I wanted to believe it would be an amazing course as many of my other courses here have been, because I was burnt out by systematic failures to approach an issue close to my heart.
Iโm glad then that this course trampled any doubts I had. I had a lot of difficulties around the midway point of the semester due to real-life issues, but I still genuinely enjoyed and appreciated what I did learn in the course. Popular online queer resources and online queer communities are often intermingled with terrible places to discuss nuance and theory; unfortunately, queer theory, by definition, is a concept that is impossible to discuss proper in those spheres. I was hoping an academic look into a facet of my own identity would give me new insights and appreciations for my history, as well as places to begin to look for further researchโand it absolutely did. I felt like I was able to present both inside and out of the classroom (with friends also interested, but not attending) my earnest feelings for a topic and to approach nuanced discussion of the topics shared here.
Ultimately, I think itโs also given me a lot of hope. Writing my final essay for this course was a cathartic experience and a long time coming; I had always joked to my friends that I would eventually write about the traumatic structural issues inherent in classical ballet and how damning it was for the dancers who sat outside of its ideal. I struggled a lot to write it in the beginning, but my essay on Ballez and their breakthrough approach to reimagining ballets that despised people like me was ultimately an empowering and hopeful experience. There really is a future for queer theory in spite of any recent or long-standing challenges against it. I donโt think Iโll ever be able to abandon it.
Anyways. In far more informal terms, I loved the course. I appreciate the fluid structure, the ability to choose what I focus on per module, and the opportunities in every facet of the course to earnestly express my opinions. Iโm pretty upset I flubbed the assignments midway through and only really managed to save it at the very end, but I still was happy to take the course. (Iโm also hopefully taking your WGS 300 course in the summer because Iโd genuinely like to make up for the absence during the semester and also just see what resources and opportunities you have to look into something else thatโs affected my entire life.)
Thank you for such a lovely course. ||ใฝ(๏ฟฃโฝ๏ฟฃ)ใใ|ะฎ I hope you have a lovely summer break as well, and an incredible life after that.