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ABOUT THE CLASS
This course explores “coming out” as used in multiple social and political contexts, including “coming out” as an undocumented immigrant, an addict, homeless, having a criminal record, being illiterate or having a chronic mental illness, as well as the more popularly understood meaning of coming out as an LGBTQ person.
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Students explore the ramifications of visibility and invisibility, learning about the history, benefits and costs of “passing,” as well as the struggles involved in claiming a socially taboo identity.
We hear and read numerous “coming out stories” told by a diverse range of individuals who reflect on the consequences of their decision.
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We also include guest speakers who can both speak to their own experience and enter into informal discussion with the class.
The course culminates in a “Coming Out Show” open to the Arcadia University community, at which student-created videos, performances, art works and other visual projects related to our theme are displayed, performed and/or interpreted by the students who make them.
