THEORIZING THE BISEXUAL: BISEXUALITY AND THE POLITICS OF INVISIBILITY SYLLABUS AND COURSE OUTLINE Megan Hollmann University of Maryland megan@inform.umd.edu This class endeavors to examine, politicize and theorize the middle ground of sexual identity/orientation known as bisexuality. Because bisexuality has been studied alongside other queer identities and rarely on its own, the goal of this class will be to create a space in which issues informing bisexuality can be explored. Some of the threads that run through the readings in this class are: the invisible history of bisexuality, feminism and bisexuality, issues of race and class for bisexuals, the lesbian and gay movements and their relationship with bisexuality, the social and cultural implications for bisexuality or adopting a bisexual lifestyle and politicizing the bisexual. Pulling from many different disciplines, this class hopes to struggle with the issues that influence bisexuality and the bisexual movement. REQUIRED TEXTS FOR THE CLASS: Course packet (readings in sequence as listed below). Bi Academic Intervention, ed., The Bisexual Imaginary: Representation, Identity and Desire. London: Cassel, 1997. Haeberle, Erwin J. et al, ed. Bisexualities: The Ideology and Practice of Sexual Contact With Both Men and Women. New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1998. Hutchins, Loraine and Ka'ahumanu, Lani, ed. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. Los Angeles: Alyson Books, 1991. Rose, Sharon et al, ed. Bisexual Horizons: Politics, Histories, Lives. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1996. Tucker, Naomi et al, ed. Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, & Visions. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1995. Weise, Elizabeth Reba, ed. Closer to Home: Bisexuality & Feminism. Seattle: Seal Press, 1992. On Reserve: Alexander, M. Jacqui and Mohanty, Chandra Talpade, ed. Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures. New York: Rutledge, 1997. Rosenbloom, Rachel, ed. Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights. New York: Cassel, 1996. Weiss, Penny A. and Friedman, Marilyn. Feminism & Community. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995. ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING POLICIES: There will be no exams or quizzes in this class. Instead, students will be graded on their contributions to the class discussions and the writing projects they will engage in throughout the semester. All papers should be double-spaced to provide room for commentary. Class Participation: because this class is designed to be a discussion forum, participation (and attendance) is mandatory. There will be no attendance taken but students' absences and lack of participation will be noted and reflected in final grades. If you have a problem speaking in this kind of forum, please notify me as soon as possible. Weekly paper (1-2 pages): these papers are due at the beginning of each class period. The weekly reflection should be focused on the readings assigned for that week and may include any themes, issues or questions that you feel are important to our discussions. Have the readings furthered your understanding of bisexuality or have they complicated it? Were any of your assumptions violated or exposed? How do the readings contribute to your understanding of bisexuality as a sexual identity and/or orientation? The purpose of this paper is twofold: to tease out certain moments of engagement that you have had with the texts in order to prepare you for class discussion and to keep me appraised of how students are reacting to the readings. Please do not reiterate or summarize the readings themselves: this kind of writing will not be considered. Group project: within the first two weeks of class, students will be divided up into small groups that will do a thirty-minute presentation on a topic of their choice at some point in the semester. These groups will be expected to work together equally and the subject of the presentation should be directly related to the readings for that particular week. The group should hand in a bibliography to me at the beginning of their presentation detailing their sources and references. The week following the presentation, each person in the group should hand in a short paper (length is unimportant) detailing their experience in the group and any concerns that arose during the process. Final project (10-12 pages): this research assignment is due on the last meeting of the class. Students are free to choose their own topics within the framework of the course subject matter and are encouraged to be as creative as possible; however, several class readings must be included in the project. Listserve participation: there will be a listserve created for this class and students are expected to participate in and contribute to the discussion within it. The listserve is intended to act as a space for further discussion and debates and also to serve as a bulletin board for events on campus and in our area. Posting to the listserve can take the form of comment, question or opinion as long as it is related to the readings or subject matter for the class. Because the class meets only once a week, it is very important that students contribute to the discussion on the listserve. Students are required to make one post to the listserve each week (length of message and detail is not important), preferably not the day before/of class, as the issues raised on the listserve may be introduced in our class discussions. Grading Method: Class Participation 25% Listserve Participation 10% Weekly Papers 25% Midterm Project 20% Final Paper 20% SYLLABUS Week #1: Introduction to the Course Discussion of syllabus and assignments; questions & answers; why is a class on bisexuality important? In-class assignment: Take twenty minutes to write a short essay on who you are and why you are taking this class. How does this class fit into your life and studies? What are your perceptions of bisexuality? Please advise me as to any issues you might have with this class in this paper. Week #2: What is Bisexuality? Who Counts as Bisexual?: Towards Some Working Definitions "Refusing Certainty: Towards a Bisexuality of Wholeness", Ruth Gibian 3-16 (CTH) In course packet: "Blatantly Bisexual; or, Unthinking Queer Theory", Michael du Plessis "Sexuality as a Continuum: The Bisexual Identity", Rebecca Shuster "Toward a Definition", Klein In BAON: "Development of a bisexual identity", Ann Fox 29-36 Poem by Irene Wolt, 151-152 "Conflicts", Sheilah Mabry 299-302 "This poem can be put off no longer", Susan Carlton 14-16 Week #3: Invisible Histories: Bisexualizing History & Historicizing Bisexuality ***Groups must notify me today as to which week their presentation will take place "Bisexuality: Historical Perspectives", Gert Hekma 113-117 (Bisexualities) "The Bisexual in History and the Arts", Fritz Klein (course packet) Bisexual Politics: "The Bisexual Movement's Beginnings in the 70s: A Personal Retrospective", Stephen Donaldson 31-45 "Identity/Politics: A History of the Bisexual Movement", Amanda Udis-Kessler 17-30 "Bisexual History: Fighting Invisibility", Kevin Lano 219-226 (Bisexual Horizons) "A Brief History of the Bisexual Movement", BiNETUSA (course packet) "Brief Timeline of Bisexual Activism in the United States", Dannielle Raymond and Liz A. Highleyman 333-337 (Bisexual Politics) Week #4: Coalition-Building and the Politics of Bisexuality In Bisexual Horizons: "Coming in From the Cold: Bisexuality and the Politics of Diversity", Paul Chandler 227-235 "Politically Bi", Simon Scott 236-239 "Bisexuals and the Left", Zaidie Parr and Jon Johnson 258-264 "Thoughts of a Bisexual Anarchist/Activist", Liz A. Highleyman 269-273 In Bisexual Horizons: "History of the Edingburgh Bisexual Group", Dave Berry 281-286 "BAD (Bisexuals Affirming Diversity): Bistory", Clare Bear 298-302 "The foundations of the bisexual community in San Fransisco", Marcy Sheiner 203-206 (BAON) "San Francisco's Bisexual Center and the Emergence of Bisexual Movement", Jay Paul 130-139 (Bisexualities) "Political Activism: a brief history", 359-367 (Bi Any Other Name) Week #5: The Relationship Between Bisexuality and Feminism In Closer to Home: "Feminist Bisexuality: A both/and option for an either/or world", Kathleen Bennett 205-231 "Closer to Home: Bisexual Feminism and the Transformation of Hetero/sexism", Amanda Udis-Kessler 183-201 "Breaking Silence about the "B-Word": Bisexual identity and lesbian-feminist discourse", Stacey Young 75-87 "Bisexual Feminist Politics: Because Bisexuality is not enough", Karin Baker 255-268 "From Where I Stand: A Case for Feminist Bisexuality", Deborah Gregory 141-156 (course packet) In Bisexual Horizons: "Bisexuality and Feminism: One Black Woman's Perspective", Valerie Barlow38-40 "Bisexual Feminism: Challenging the Splits", Susan M. Sturgis 41-44 "Feminist Bisexuals in the UK: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place?", Zaidie Parr 274-280 "Compulsory Heterosexuality and the Lesbian Existence", Adrienne Rich (to be passed out in class) "Compulsory Heterosexuality and the Bisexual Existence: Toward a Bisexual Feminist Understanding of Heterosexism", Rebecca Kaplan, 269-280 (Closer to Home) Week #6: Within/Without the Lesbian & Gay Communities: Bisexuality and the Struggle for Acceptance In Bisexual Politics: "Traitors to the Cause? Understanding the Lesbian/Gay Bisexuality Debates", Elizabeth Armstrong 199-217 "Bisexuality, Lesbian and Gay Communities, and the Limits of Identity Politics", Stacey Young 219-228 "Bisexual Etiquette: Helpful Hints for Bisexuals Working with Lesbians and Gay Men", Robyn Ochs 237-240 "Why You Must Say 'and Bisexual'", Nishanga Bliss 257-259 "Present Tense: Biphobia as a crisis of meaning", Amanda Udis-Kessler, 350-358 (Bi Any Other Name) "Bisexual Accounts and the Limits of Lesbian Community", Kristin G. Esterberg 147-169 (course packet) Week #7: Bisexuality and the Intersections of Race and Class In Bi Any Other Name: "Que es un Bisexual?", Obie Levya 201-202 "What Do Indians Think About?", Joe Rios 37-39 "Hapa Haole Wahine", Lani Ka'ahumanu 306-323 "To be bisexual and underclass", Elizabeth McKeon 27-34 (Closer to Home) In Bisexual Horizons: "Bisexuals and People of Mixed-Race: Arbiters for Change", Yasmin Prabhudas 30-31 "Passing: Pain or Privilege? What the Bisexual Movement Can Learn from Jewish Experience", Naomi Tucker 32-37 "The Sexual Reproduction of "Race": Bisexuality, History and Racialization", Merl Storr 73-90 (Bisexual Imaginary) "Which Part of Me Deserves to Be Free?", Dajenya 235-236 (Bisexual Politics) "Towards a Genealogy of Black Female Sexuality: The Problematic of Silence", Evelynn M. Hammonds 170-182 (on reserve) "Postmodernism, "Realism", and the Politics of Identity: Chrrie Moraga and Chicana Feminism", Paula M.L. Moya 125-150 (on reserve) "The Roots of Biphobia: Racism and Internalized Heterosexism", Brenda Marie Blasingame 47-53 (Closer to Home) Week #8: International Bisexualities In Bisexualities: "Bisexuality and Discretion: The Case of Pakistan", John P. De Cecco 152-156 "Bisexuality and the Causes of Homosexuality: The Case of the Sambia", Gilbert Herdt 157-168 "Women and the Holocaust: A Reconsideration of Research", Joan Ringelheim 317-340 (on reserve) In Bisexual Horizons: "On Being Bisexual and Black in Britain", Paul 95-99 "Bisexuality in the Arab World", Françoise Gollain 58-61 "The Making of an Australian Bisexual Activist", Wayne Roberts 149-153 "Bisexuality in Brussels", euroqueer 287-288 "A History of the Bi-Movement in the Netherlands", Wouter Kaal 289-292 "Bisexual Associations in Germany", Francis Hüsers 293-297 Hong Kong & India country reports in Unspoken Rules (on reserve) Week #9: Bisexuality & Marriage, Family and Commitment "Breaking the Rules", Amanda Yoshizaki 155-161 (Closer to Home) In Bi Any Other Name: "Growing up with a bisexual dad", Billy & Peaches Jones 159-166 "Proud father of a bisexual son", Roland Glenn 254-257 In Bisexual Horizons: "Dwelling in the House of Tomorrow: Children, Young People and their Bisexual Parents", Karen Arden 247-257 "Marriage and Bisexuality", Felicity Cade 114-118 In Bi Any Other Name: "I am who I am-A married bisexual teacher", Amanda Yoshizaki 25-26 "A Day in the Life", Richard Susan Bassein 171-173 "Against Marriage", Sharon Rose 119-121 (Bisexual Politics) "Gray-haired and above suspicion", Bibbi Keppel 154-158 (Bi Any Other Name) Week #10: Representations of Bisexuality in Textual and Visual Cultures "The Bisexual in History and the Arts", Fritz Klein REPRISE (course packet) "Divided Heart, Divided History: Eighteenth-Century Bisexual Heroines", Emma Donoghue 75-82 (Bisexual Horizons) "Queer Shoulders to the Wheel: Whitman, Ginsberg and a Bisexual Poetics", Nick Selby120-140 (Bisexual Imaginary) "Straddling the Screen: Bisexual Spectatorship and Contemporary Narrative Film", Maria Pramaggiore 272-297 (course packet) "'That's Why She Is Bisexual': Contexts for Bisexual Visibility", Jo Eadie 142-160 (Bisexual Imaginary) In Bi Any Other Name: "Bisexual movies", Paul Haut 183 "Bisexuality, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Me", Elizabeth Reba Weise 134-139 Week #11: Bisexual Theory-Building: Where Do We Go From Here? In Bisexual Politics: "Your Fence is Sitting on Me: The Hazards of Binary Thinking", Rebecca Kaplan 267-279 "Identity and Ideas: Strategies for Bisexuals", Liz A. Highleyman 73-92 "The Natural Next Step", Naomi Tucker 315-317 "Bisexual Women, Feminist Politics", Tamara Bower 99-107 "Framing Radical Bisexuality" Toward a Gender Agenda", Jill Nagle 305-314 "The Bisexual Future: Present-Day Factors", Fritz Klein 159-170 (course packet) "Paradigmatic Changes in the Understanding of Bisexuality", Eli Coleman 107-112 (Bisexualities) In Bisexual Horizons: "A New Politics of Sexuality", June Jordan 11-15 "Towards a Free and Loose Bisexual Future", Heather Came 25-29 "The Bisexual Community: Viable Reality or Revolutionary Pipe Dream?", 303-313 "Editors' Roundtable Discussion: The Bisexual Imaginary", 198-211 (Bisexual Imaginary) "Beyond Defense: Considering next steps for a bisexual liberation", 266-274 (Bi Any Other Name)