This project works to display the queer knowledge we have devised together in a Queer Studies course at The College of Staten Island. Of all the texts we read and analyzed, and the conversations that were had regarding them, we decided what ideas were most essential to Queer Studies more generally, and have created this website as a cost free source to share them with other CUNY students.
“This website can be viewed as breaking the barrier between what can and can’t be taught about on CUNY campuses.”
–Spring 2022 Queer Studies Classmate
To those who might wonder why we did all this work just to teach what we have already learned, allow our following experiences to be sufficient. A portion of this class has studied at least one of the readings with their heads tilted sideways at the faded scanned copies from the expensive books that should have already been provided for them. Some have had their eyes squinted at a computer screen because they couldn’t pay for the ink to print, or the mothers couldn’t find the time to do so between getting their kids to school and getting themselves to school, or a student’s parents would unenroll them at the sight of the word “queer,” so they kept their laptops half closed at all times. All this to say that a lot of us did our research despite hindrance, and would like to enhance and share it in an accessible way because queer knowldege is crucial to everyone.
Our work also has more to offer than the fact of accessibility. As students of a poor community college, we have discovered that we think in ways which are unique to our circumstances, and in ways that are essential to queer education. From the fact of an almost guaranteed admission, to the relatively low cost of tuition, our school, and others like them contain some of the most intelligent and diverse populations in the higher education system. It seems contradicting at first, to use diverse and intelligent in the same sentence regarding college, especially when referring to the predominantly rich and white demographic of the most prestigious schools in America. However, our work in this class has established a direct correlation between difference and brilliancy which we display throughout our website.
“I hope students view this amazing project that we have all created and feel inspired to take a Queer Studies course to help educate others on how important it is to be knowledgeable about LGBT people.”
–Spring 2022 Queer Studies Classmate
The Who We Are section introduces our class’s journey from high schoolers, to sitting in a Queer Studies classroom at the College of Staten Island. We also discuss how our experiences form a collective voice, what that sounds like, and why.
The Our Queer Pedagogies section, we discuss the texts that influenced our understanding of the ways queer knowledge is made, learned, and passed down. Drawing on texts, we argue for teaching Queer Studies at CUNY, and we list the key pedagogical considerations we discovered for teaching and learning Queer Studies at CUNY.
The Class/Race/Place/Queerness section introduces the conversation of what we know as a Queer New York City, where as a group, we’ve read and analyzed certain texts relating to to this topic.
We have a responsibility to be more than a student but as well a teacher to our own children, we are their role models. Our children will mirror what they see and carry on the values, traditions, and morals we instill in them.
The What We’ll Remember section talks about what different students will remember about the class after it’s over. It also goes into what each student will take away from the class and use in their future endeavors.
“With this project, we hope to continue their legacy, continue their teachings, lift up voices in the community that are otherwise unheard, and create a safe environment to discuss topics that are often seen as too risque to discuss in a nuanced fashion.”
–Spring 2022 Queer Studies Classmate
