Course Review: Trans Histories of North America

by Uma Dwivedi

Susan Stryker

Trans Histories of North America, taught by Professor Susan Stryker, is a thorough historical and theoretical grounding in the field of trans studies. Moving more or less chronologically through the last 500 or so years of North American history, the course covers material such as the impact of colonialism on indigenous gender frameworks, the difficulties of assigning transness to historical figures, and the treatment of transgender and intersex children. The readings are engaging—sometimes revelatory, sometimes dense—and class discussion is thoughtful and rigorous without compromising student wellbeing, as can so often be the case in academic discussion of trans lives and histories. Issues of race and class, so often marginalized in conversations about transness, are discussed both in readings and in class. Generally, the course has been an extremely positive experience. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to obtain a solid academic foundation of trans studies and have gained the ability to articulate what were previously vague and nebulous personal convictions about the experience of transness. Everyone in the class thinks hard and carefully about the material at hand, treating both each other and the subjects of our inquiry with dignity and respect, making it an environment conducive to robust analysis and the kind of floundering deep thought often requires to take shape.