1st Edition

An Analysis of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's Epistemology of the Closet

By Christien Garcia Copyright 2017
    96 Pages
    by Macat Library

    96 Pages
    by Macat Library

    In this book, Sedgwick examines texts from Europe and America such as Wilde, Nietzsche and Proust and considers the historical moment when sexual orientation came to be as important a signifier of personhood as gender had been for centuries. In doing this, Sedgwick provides a history of sexuality that contends that the dualistic homo/heterosexual model is as much a basis for modern culture as it is an outcome of it. Thus, Sedgwick laid the foundations of Queer Theory, contributing to the contemporary debates regarding the relationship between desire and normative structures of power, the question of empirical sexuality, and the intricacies of the relationship between sexuality and gender.

    Ways in to the text 

    Who was Eve Sedgwick? 

    What does The Epistemology of the Closet Say? 

    Why does The Epistemology of the Closet Matter? 

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 

    Module 2: Academic Context 

    Module 3: The Problem 

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution 

    Section 2: Ideas 

    Module 5: Main Ideas 

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement 

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work 

    Section 3: Impact 

    Module 9: The First Responses 

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate 

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 

    Module 12: Where Next? 

    Glossary of Terms 

    People Mentioned in the Text 

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Christien Garcia is a scholar of Visual Culture, and Gender and Sexuality Studies. He recently completed his PhD in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University and is currently a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow.