Sexuality in Literature: From Giovanni's Room to Fun Home
GENED 1176
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
What is the relationship between literature, social change, and sexual identity?
In this course, we’ll learn how sexual identity and desire are understood and represented in different social and historical circumstances, We’ll move beyond the binary of identifying images as “positive” or “negative,” paying attention to how depictions, definitions, and understandings of sexuality are shaped by specific historical moments, as well as the aesthetic traditions and personal experiences shaping these individual works. In addition to novels, we’ll look at op-eds, essays, poems, photography, and film with an eye to thinking about how different genres speak to the larger world of politics, activism, and popular culture.
Learning how to decode metaphors and images in novels, films, and other works will make you a more sophisticated reader of the texts that circulate outside the classroom. As you sharpen your ability to critically analyze these works as products of particular political and historical moments, you will become a more nuanced reader of the world around you, able to think critically about other texts (not only literature, but memes, videos, blogs, games, and advertising) that circulate in our own cultural moment and their crucial relationship to identity and social change.
Course Notes
This course counts for the Certificate for Civic Engagement. The Certificate for Civic Engagement recognizes Harvard College students who have demonstrated sustained participation in public service and civic involvement during their undergraduate experience.
Class Notes
This course has an enrollment cap and is a part of the Gen Ed lottery. To participate in the lottery, you must first submit a petition and then rank your choices through my.harvard by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday, April 6, 2026. The Gen Ed lottery will run Tuesday, April 7; if you are successful in the lottery, your course petition in your Crimson Cart will turn to a green check that allows you to enroll. You will have until 11:59 p.m. EST Wednesday, April 8, to claim your seat. After that time, enrollment will open up to non-lottery petitioners.
- Please note: Only a green checkmark indicates success in the lottery. If you see either “petition pending” or a red X, it means that your petition was unsuccessful. If this is the case and you would still like to try to enroll in the course, please submit a new petition after the lottery.
- A hold will not prevent you from submitting a petition for the lottery, but it will prevent you from claiming your seat. Please make sure your holds are resolved ahead of the Claim Seat deadline on April 8.
For timely updates and detailed instructions about entering the Gen Ed lottery, please see https://gened.college.harvard.edu/courses/registration-and-lottery/
Sectioning for this course will take place at the end of registration. Once you have enrolled in the course and the placeholder (“DIS”) section, please rank your section preferences by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. To do this, click on the cog icon next to the Gen Ed course in your Crimson Cart. You will then be prompted to rank the section times. Once we have your ranking, we will do our best to find you a seat in your highest-ranked available section.
If none of the times work for you, you are welcome to not set any preferences and remain in the placeholder for the time being. However, please note that if enrollment does not significantly change during Add/Drop, no additional sections will be added and you will ultimately need to enroll in an available section or drop the course.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
NOTE: This course requires additional sections; you will be prompted to choose secondary components during the Add to Cart process
