Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2019
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555503462022072 |
| id |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu1555503462022072 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu15555034620220722021-08-03T07:10:29Z Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic Harvat, Zachary Literature American Literature American Studies Glbt Studies queer studies LGBTQ literature video game studies queer history media studies affect play Queer scholarship on history and historical media has tended toward the negative, emphasizing trauma, loss, injury, melancholia, and the like. This scholarship, in other words, posits a fundamentally negative relationship between queer subjects and their history, echoing Jameson's famous assertion that "history is what hurts." I argue that such fundamentally-negative relationships to history are neither inevitable nor intrinsic. Bringing together a variety of texts produced by and about queers, I demonstrate how queer writers, filmmakers, artists, and game designers since the 1980s have developed playful relationships to history that do not negate the realities of historical trauma but expand the affective registers with which the past might be engaged. These texts emphasize humor, joy, pleasure, and irreverence alongside trauma, treating the past as an open space for formal and affective play that allows for complex negotiations across time. Given the often-dark realities of queer history, such playful engagements with the past may seem counter-intuitive. But my research suggests that treating history as a space for play opens it up for queer subjects in unexpected and provocative ways. Rethinking how and why we engage with the past engenders reconsiderations of many ideas and logics that have been cast aside by queer studies because of their association with liberal, linear narratives of progress: genealogy, visibility, fantasy, even the notion of progress itself. Playing with the past allows queer artists the opportunity to explore these issues in complex and often counter-intuitive ways, demonstrating their utility when uncoupled from their association with linear narratives of progress. If history is what hurts and nothing more, how will we ever find anything but hurt when we turn backward? 2019-09-04 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555503462022072 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555503462022072 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Literature American Literature American Studies Glbt Studies queer studies LGBTQ literature video game studies queer history media studies affect play |
| spellingShingle |
Literature American Literature American Studies Glbt Studies queer studies LGBTQ literature video game studies queer history media studies affect play Harvat, Zachary Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| author |
Harvat, Zachary |
| author_facet |
Harvat, Zachary |
| author_sort |
Harvat, Zachary |
| title |
Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| title_short |
Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| title_full |
Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| title_fullStr |
Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Histories beyond Hurt: Queer Historical Literature and Media since the AIDS Epidemic |
| title_sort |
histories beyond hurt: queer historical literature and media since the aids epidemic |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555503462022072 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT harvatzachary historiesbeyondhurtqueerhistoricalliteratureandmediasincetheaidsepidemic |
| _version_ |
1719455474436276224 |