WS 698-004, Special Topics (3 Credits)
‘Passing’: Resurrecting An Analytic Concept
Sarah Fenstermaker
Wednesdays 10am-1pm, Winter 2013
This seminar is the result of two decades of my research on, and fascination with, the accomplishment of social life. An essential aspect of that accomplishment is the performative: the dimension of race, class, gender and sexuality that is purposefully crafted as part of the presentation of self and confirmation of an identity. “Passing” is most simply understood as the effort to communicate a “false” or “untrue” self. However, understanding the contextualized nature of passing introduces a great many theoretical complications. Using passing as an analytic path poses further challenges.
This seminar is unusual in that the materials we will read and discuss are not gathered together as a single, canonical corpus (as one would find, for example, in a course on race and/or gender). Instead, we will interrogate the concept of passing from lots of different angles, and hope that some insight results from multiple vantage points. Thus, while it is always important to connect seminar work to ongoing research interests, this class is not designed as a research or substantial writing seminar. Rather, it is an occasion to immerse ourselves in assorted materials on the concept, and perhaps develop some new ideas or implications from them.
The primary requirement of the seminar therefore, is that everyone attends all meetings, comes having digested as much of the assigned reading as possible, and is courageous enough to participate fully. In that regard, it is particularly important that each brings to the seminar a spirit of collaboration, patience, and good will.
Along with attendance, reading, and class participation there are four additional requirements:
• Service as discussant in one or more seminar discussions;
• A group discussion question for each reading, emailed to me before each seminar meeting;
• Two short (2-3 pages) analytic comments on a single week’s readings and a very short presentation on these papers;
• One analytic paper employing anecdotal ethnographic data drawn from an experience of passing (5-10 pages).
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