Rhetoric of Social Movements: Queer Liberation

This course examines the verbal and non-verbal rhetorical strategies of groups and individuals attempting to effect social change and the counter-strategies of those who oppose them. We look at how social movements attempt to transform perceptions of social reality, alter the self-perception of protestors, legitimize the movement, prescribe courses of action, mobilize for action, and sustain the movement. We begin by understanding how the rhetorics of social movements operate by looking at three time periods in the United States: the emergence of gay identity and early homophile societies (late 1800s-1960s), the emergence of the Gay Liberation movement post-Stonewall (1969s-1980s), and the response to the AIDS crisis (late 1980s-1990s). We then move to examining contemporary topics in LGBTQ+ studies, including the fight for marriage equality, anti-trans legislation, intersections of oppressions, LGBTQ+ content in schools, and others. Students will choose a contemporary topic in the fight for queer liberation and examine the rhetorical techniques used, from songs and slogans to television and social media