Final Paper Guidelines
DUE Dec 4 BEFORE 11:59 PM
The final research paper or project represents the cumulative effort of your work this semester. It should be 1200 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, standard 1 inch margins on all sides. Page numbers should start on the second page and be located in the lower right hand corner of the paper. This final paper will demonstrate your proficiency in applying concepts relevant to the theories we have been studying to a topic of your choice pertaining to sexual and gender identities.
Your project should reference a minimum of one (1) course readings in an application of one or more theoretical concepts we have explored this semester to a text, issue, or cultural production of your choice. You should include a minimum of two (2) outside sources on the topic, which can be original data collection or other sources you have found in your own research. Therefore, the paper will have a total of three (3) sources. Proper research methods using the FIU library website will be discussed in class.
Examples of possible concepts to consider/integrate:
the sex/gender binary
birth of the “homosexual”
discursive constructions of sexuality
regulation, power, and knowledge
diagnosis, confession, and “truth”
medical science and sexuality – the construction of “normal”
historical context and its role in definition
passing and trans narratives
intersectionality – race/class/gender/sexuality
recognition/visibility of sexual and gender identities (bisexuality & the closet)
queer politics and the policing of “deviant” bodies and sexualities
pedophilia, psychosexual development, and polymorphous perversity
stereotypes and cultural representation
performativity, drag, and gender identity
Stonewall and gay liberation
queer and trans challenges to the legal system
sodomy and marriage laws
lesbian feminism, separatism, and trans identities
materiality of the body
cyberidentities (sexual and gender