Queer Anthropology

The study of human diversity has long focused on a worldview that claims heteronormativity and a binary view of sex and gender as the ‘norm’ in human societies. Heavily influenced by the disciplines of the anthropology of sexuality and feminist anthropology, Queer anthropology utilizes an intersectional lens of analysis to critically analyze the diverse aspects of sexuality in the human experience. 

This course not only focuses on groups of individuals who are marginalized (both historically and contemporarily), but also aims to show, through anthropological research, that these communities are more prevalent in society than acknowledged in greater academia and are actually a part of the “natural” diversity of the human species. 

Weekly topics discussed typically touch on inequality and power amongst people groups in both non-industrialized and industrialized societies. We also discuss the concepts of cultural hegemony and the effects of cultural appropriation (or misappropriation) both by individuals within LGBTQ2I+ communities and individuals outside these communities.