Woubshet Teaches about Black Queer Culture January 23, 2024 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Associate Professor of English and previous TIP seminar leader Dagmawi Woubshet led a first-year seminar in the fall exploring the history and politics of Black queer media. The seminar was supported by a First-Year Seminar Grant from the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and the College of Arts & Sciences. The course content mirrored what TIP fellows learned in a 2022 seminar with Woubshet.

During the seminar, Woubshet led students in engaging discussions about Black queer literature, art and politics. Students had the opportunity to tour Philadelphia’s Gayborhood where they explored Giovanni’s Room, the first LGBT bookstore in the U.S, the William Way LGBT Community Center and more. By doing so, students gained real-world experiences that reinforced their in-class learnings. According to Chloe Reison, Associate Director of The Sachs Program, “[Professor Woubshet’s] class exemplifies the innovative approach behind First-Year Seminar Grants, a collaborative initiative with the College of Arts & Sciences: providing real world experiences on critical social issues and movements.”

Fellows in Woubshet’s 2022 TIP seminar called Black Visual Culture had a very similar experience. Woubshet led Philadelphia school teachers in the exploration of the creative works of Black artists and the discourse around Black visual representation. Among many other themes, the seminar examined the representation of blackness in different forms of digital media and the intersection of race and gender, sexuality, class and nationality in media.

Learn more about Woubshet’s first-year seminar on Black queer traditions here.