Gender and Sexuality Studies Emphasis

Studies of genders and sexualities and their representations have perhaps always been more interdisciplinary than most types of scholarly inquiries. This Ph.D. emphasis is designed to examine the meanings, uses and productive roles as well as the literary and performative representations of genders and sexualities in the context of East Asian cultures where they have changed significantly from the premodern through the contemporary period.

New approaches to the analysis of genders and sexualities have gone hand in hand with theories of commodification and certain styles of engagement with normative scientific and/or sexual practices and attitudes, and have challenged preconceived notions of cultural expression in East Asia and elsewhere. Focal points of study include such issues as kinship, family, and women’s social position; systems of masculinity and military cultures; queer cultures; gender and division of labor; gender and nationalism; the intersection of gender with race and class; and gender and sexuality in literature, performance, and media, among others.

Faculty:
Sabine Frühstück
Xiaorong Li
Hangping Xu
Mayfair Yang

Affiliated Faculty:
Xiaowei Zheng