ENGL 7080-01: Trans Lit. of the Americas

Prof. Alex Brostoff

Section Description: Nested in the question “what is trans literature?” are two thornier ones: what is trans? And what is literature? Like the category “Literature of the Americas,” which has come to describe hemispheric literary production, the etymology of “trans” implies movement “across.” How have the Americas been constructed and contested by trans writing and rewriting over history and across borders? What genealogies and genres of trans literature bear on representations of immigration, displacement, and belonging? What role does translating trans play in approaches to hemispheric histories of colonization, genocide, and slavery? Drawing on the intersections between trans and queer of color critique and cuir/trans/travesti studies of U.S. Latinx and Latin American literatures alongside decolonial, diasporic, and translation studies frameworks, we’ll investigate how varying geopolitics generate trans hemispheric imaginaries that encompass and exceed the Américas. Our studies will range across local contexts from the Caribbean to the Southern Cone, from South to North and beyond. Although all texts will be provided in translation, a working knowledge of Spanish and/or Portuguese will be helpful for approaching course content.