Product Description
Annamarie Jagose knows that queer theory did not spring full- blown from the head of any contemporary theorist. It is the outcome of many different influences and sources, including the homophile movement, gay liberation, and lesbian feminism. In pointing to the history of queer theory–a history that all too often is ignored or elided–Jagose performs a valuable service.–Henry Abelove, co-editor of The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader The political and academic a… More >>
Tags: co editor, gay liberation, henry abelove, homophile movement, Introduction, lesbian and gay studies, lesbian feminism, Queer, queer theory, theorist, Theory, valuable service
#1 by Anonymous on February 9, 2010 - 9:49 am
Ms. Jagose does as well as can be expected in explaining a “discipline” that is anything but. A strong point of her tour of this academic freakery is in making it clear how the overwhelmingly male queer population came to be the caboose on the train of radical feminism. Those with the endurance to complete this introduction will understand why queer theory is the phlogiston of the social sciences. A more concise and less arcane view of some of the same terrain can be had in Leo Bersani’s “Homos,” also available from Amazon.com.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Anonymous on February 9, 2010 - 12:47 pm
This is a well-written, concise introduction to the ever-growing, booming field of queer theory. As more and more people are coming out of the closet due to an increasing acceptance of homosexuality, queer theory and gay and lesbian studies will absolutely thrive. There are so many gay people in America alone, and it seems like more and more people are coming out every day. Heterosexuality is boring and Establishment. Without gays and lesbians this country would be extremely dull and intellectually starved. Jagose’s book is a real wake-up call.
Rating: 4 / 5
#3 by Anonymous on February 9, 2010 - 3:27 pm
My students have found this book very helpful, as have I. A complex but very useable history of an exciting field.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Donald G. Hite III on February 9, 2010 - 3:45 pm
I found this book to be a quick and interesting read. Jagose laid out the social history of homosexuality very clearly, providing a good background to understand the context of queer theory. The explanation of queer theory was pretty clear, considering the difficulty involved in defining a term that resists being defined.
The author also included a chapter featuring criticisms of queer theory, though I felt the author was somewhat dismissive of much of the critiques (many criticisms that I agreed with your simply dismissed as “misinterpreting the theory”).
The theory itself, is much less satisfactory. While its basic premise makes sense (questioning the self-evidence of many categories of identity such as gender and sexual orientation). However, some implications of this theory seem to fly in the face of common sense and established knowledge. For example, one scholar quoted in the book questions the “self-evidence” of sex (male vs. female). While it is certainly valid to question the social roles/obligations attached to sex (though I would think this falls under the category of gender, not sex), but I think the self-evidence of sex itself is well established by biology and genetics. Transexualism might contradict the traditional concept of sex as a biological/genetic category, but most experts regard transexualism as a birth defect, so using it as an example to destablize traditional views of male vs. female is problematic. However, my background is in physical anthropology/human evolution, so my perspective is probably more biologically based where as queer theory appears more purely philosophical.
Regardless of disagreements with the theory itself, this book provides a thorough and interesting introduction.
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by Anonymous on February 9, 2010 - 6:01 pm
This is an interesting reader, though quite dry and offering very little in the arena of diverse opinions. Very “orthodox” far left queer politics. It would be nicer to hear from some of the more moderate voices in the world of queer theory. And it would be better if it was more readable by non-academics.
Rating: 3 / 5