Spaces Between: Queering Speculative Fiction

Class Description

What is alien gender? How does the Otherworld express being Othered? In this course, we'll explore questions of gender and sexuality in speculative fiction, moving beyond Ursula LeGuin's classic The Left Hand of Darkness. This class will take a two-pronged approach to understanding the relationship between the queer and the weird, including discussions of writing queer characters in speculative fiction, as well as using elements of the uncanny to express experiences of queerness. We'll practice imagining beyond the binary, consider the metaphorical power of magic, discuss the place of gender in worldbuilding, and develop strategies for using the language we have to imagine worlds we don't... yet. We'll also define the speculative broadly, considering serious sci-fi alongside rule-bending fabulism, and student material is encouraged to mirror this diversity of subgenre. Through our work together, we'll explore how liminal, fluid spaces of identity can find a home in the Weird, what Jeff Vandermeer (Annihilation) calls "a country with no border, found in the spaces between." Potential authors include Carmen Maria Machado, Ann Leckie, Sarah Rees Brennan, Octavia Butler, NK Jemisin, Samuel R Delaney, Virginia Woolf, Myriam Gurba, Aimee Bender, and Brenda Peynado.

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

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