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Queer Studies

Queer studies at Denison

THE DISCIPLINE OF QUEER STUDIES ENCOMPASSES theories and thinkers from numerous fields: cultural studies, gay and lesbian studies, race studies, women's studies, media, postmodernism, post-colonialism, psychoanalysis and more.

While engaging with this diverse range of fields, the work of queer studies distinguishes itself by focusing on issues of sexuality as a central lens through which questions raised in these other arenas might be inflected. To that end, queer studies examines the cultural, social and political implications of sexuality and gender from the perspective of those marginalized by the dominant sexual ethos. It explores the ways that culture defines and regulates sexuality as well as the ways that sexuality structures and shapes social institutions.

The queer studies concentration

Students may choose a concentration in queer studies in addition to any major and may weight their choices toward the social sciences, the humanities, the arts or the life sciences.

The concentration in queer studies requires six courses:

With the approval of the committee, another course meeting the queer studies guidelines may be substituted for one of the electives listed.

Through these courses, students should gain an understanding of and respect for human differences such as age, ability, class, ethnicity, gender, race and religion.

Who are our professors?

The queer studies committee is composed of professors from several departments of the college, who act as administrators and advisors to the students in the concentration.

Associate Professor of Education Karen Graves joined the faculty at Denison in 1993. She earned a B.S., an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include the history of U.S. education, the history of women's education and gay and lesbian studies in education.

Associate Professor of English Linda Krumholz joined the faculty at Denison in 1992. She earned a B.A. at Reed College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She specializes in contemporary ethnic American literature and Black studies. Her publications on Toni Morrison and Leslie Marmon Silko have appeared in African American Review, Ariel and Modern Fiction Studies.

Associate Professor of Communication Lisbeth A. Lipari joined the faculty at Denison in 1998. She earned a B.A. at the University of Minnesota, an M.A. at the University of Texas and a Ph.D. at Stanford University. She teaches 'Introduction to Communication' and courses in ethics, political discourse and civic engagement.

Associate Professor of English Frederick C. Porcheddu joined the faculty at Denison in 1992. He earned a B.A. at Denison University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. at Ohio State University. His teaching and creative interests lie in medieval manuscript studies, medieval and renaissance British literature, sexuality and culture and the history of the book.

Associate Professor of English Sandra R. Runzo joined the department at Denison in 1986. She earned a B.A. at West Virginia University and an M.A. and Ph.D. at Indiana University. Her research interests include 19th- and 20th-century American literature and women writers.

Associate Professor of English and Women's Studies Marlene A. Tromp joined the faculty at Denison in 1997 and holds the John & Christine Warner Chair. She earned a B.A. at Creighton University, an M.A. at the University of Wyoming and a Ph.D. at the University of Florida. Her teaching and creative interests include Victorian literature, the novel, critical theory, pop culture, feminist movements and women's studies. She has published: Altered States: Sex, Nation, Drugs, and Self in Victorian Spiritualism; The Private Rod: Sexual Violence, Marriage, and the Law in Victorian England; a collection entitled Mary Elizabeth Braddon: Beyond Sensation; and another collection entitled Victorian "Freaks": The Social Work of Freakery in the Nineteenth Century, (April 2008). She is currently working on Romanticizing Titanic: Race, Class & Gender on a Sinking Ship.

For more information about the concentration, contact:

Fred Porcheddu
Queer Studies
Fellows Hall, Room 309
Denison University
Granville, Ohio 43023

Phone:  (740) 587-6246
Fax:  (740) 587-5680
E-mail:   porcheddu@denison.edu