Qmc 1 Doc

Lauren Zahn What is Queer Studies? September 26, 2008

Queer Studies: A Return to its Roots It wasn't supposed to be this way. The charm of a non-concrete philosophy, which was originally the power of the word queer, has been chained down by the world of institution. Now, Queer Studies programs exist in many universities across the globe. The once ambiguous “queer studies” is now on the same playing field with other social sciences, like sociology and psychology. This gain in legitimacy within the academic realm has had its downfalls otherwise. The objectification of Queer Studies as an independent entity has taken it from the humble roots from which its branches of power grew. This “plague of definition” (Jagose) resulting from the emergence of a more clinical spirit surrounding queer studies, has caged the true meaning behind the study of queer. Queer Studies majors study the relationship between gender, sexuality, and society. At face value, Queer Studies majors are essentially sociologists of a different variety. But, returning to the root of queer ideology, the damaging chains caused by the institutionalization of queer can be broken. The flowers of this basic, elementary way to look at what Queer Studies actually entails are truly every shade and color of the rainbow. Cartoons are minimalistic masterpieces. They are simple, concise, and short. Appealing to the visual side of the viewer, cartoons can be great tools of meaning. In order to utilize this function of root meaning creation, I have created a slideshow addressing the question of what Queer Studies actually is through the story of a well-known comic book character. Although slightly tongue-in-cheek in its story, I hope it can serve as a way to put the queer back in Queer Studies.

Children enter the school system and are provided with basic facts of life. Numbers, letters, spatial relations, historical facts, and basic language tools are taught the same way across the United States. This stability in rational is completely opposite to the theory of queer studies. Queer Studies is the admittance that the social world is in fact unstable, ever-changing, and never what meets the eyes. In this way, the journey of Charlie Brown takes him back to his educational roots. He and his gang enter Queer Lane Elementary School. The story progresses as each of the characters learn a new lesson in elementary education. But, the change here from your average elementary classroom, is that nothing adds or lines up. The world is literally turned on its side. Colors blur, equations are unequal, social norms are disregarded, and language is unintelligible. In the end, the Peanuts characters celebrate their newfound knowledge of queerology. Ultimately, Queer Studies in its purest form offers up a way to avoid the need to reach a finite conclusion. Being taught to seek order and logical solutions in a very chaotic world, it is the goal of most pursuits of knowledge to be very answer-based. Children are taught from the start that 2 plus 2 always equals 4. But, what if that two is really in disguise, and is in fact a 3? Queer Studies is the embodiment of the notion that sometimes 2+2=5. This spirit of Coltranelike jazziness is the essential beauty of the concept of queer. Charlie Brown’s story is the story of the way the very glasses which people view the world around them can be altered, cleaned, and defogged. Queer Studies is the unreachable, never-ending pursuit of crystal-clear, 20-20 social vision.