Course Description: In this course, we will explore how American LGBTQ+ creators from the 1950s to the present incorporate queer identity into their art. Does the collective nature of queer movements clash with American individualism? How have queer and trans artists reconciled the pain, joy, shame, and pride of being queer in the United States? What does it mean to be “queer,” and how has that understanding shifted, from “queer” as homophobic slur to reclaimed term? Key texts include Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, along with episodes of POSE and The L Word.