This course maps the transgender philosophy as an emerging subject in the twenty-first century. The global struggle of the transgender and nonbinary communities for their rights and recognition necessitates a renewed understanding of transgender discourses across medicine, history, anthropology, gender studies, law and policy reforms. To do so, this course looks at emerging transgender social practices embedded in dynamics of caste, class, sexuality, nationality, religion, migration and so on. Thus, the questions we ask in this course are: What does the word “trans” mean, and in its multiple meanings, how does it open up space to imagine new possibilities of becoming? How does “trans” underscore the constraints on subjectivity on gender, and how does it relate to feminist and queer understandings of gender and power? How are transgender and transsexuality emerging as new identities with claims to medical care, rights, and recognition globally in the twenty-first century? What concerns are emerging as central to trans community formation, and for whom does the new visibility of trans identity function best? To answer these questions, we will frame our discussions on transgender social formations within historical, political, and legal frameworks in both global and specifically in the Indian context.

This course is divided into four themes: Identity, Solidarity and representation, Governmentality, and Inclusion each catering to the specific area of transgender and binary discourses both in global and India-specific contexts. The rationale of the course is to acquaint students with discourses on transgender identity, solidarity and representation, governmentality and Inclusion. This will enable them to critically appraise the social realities and everydayness of transgender and nonbinary identities with a sensitised approach. The course is designed to instigate students to unlearn certain commonplace assumptions and cultural stereotypes associated with the notions of sex, gender and trans-normativity itself. At the home stretch, this course will take these four themes back to our first question on what does trans mean? and how it opens up space to imagine new possibilities of becoming?

The first module will set off by conceptualising Identity formulations of transgender by assessing their practices and distinctiveness over time. In this module through the readings, we will track the emergence of transgender studies as an area of inquiry with its own space asking what is “transgender”? how do we trace it as a critical political movement, an identity category and an “umbrella term”? and how do we teach and learn about transgender studies? Since transgender and nonbinary are the most commonly used terms today to speak about gender nonconforming bodies and practice what are the “roots” of that knowledge? How have gender non-conforming bodies been understood and treated historically and medically? In this module, we will also be looking at how gender nonconformity and gender variance are understood in a non-western context followed by critical reading of feminist and queer theories at the intersection of  transgender studies.

The second module on Solidarity and Representation will seek answers on how transgender solidarities are formed amidst their diversities. How do the transgender and non-binary communities represent themselves in Public and private spaces? Since The sociocultural rubrics of trans and nonbinary identities are also rooted in the dispositions of caste, class, nationality, religion and lingual categories we will seek to find who represents trans in the postmodern neoliberal era and what are the risks of intercommunity marginalisation and identity-based gatekeeping?

The third module on Trans and State will borrow from Foucault’s concept of governmentality looking at the administrative ways in which gender-nonconforming bodies are regulated: via identity documents, surveillance in bathrooms, transit security and so on. Here we will ask what are transgender rights? Why are they important, and how do rights discourses play out in favour of some bodies at the expense of others? The module will additionally interrogate the roles played by the sovereign in acknowledging some identities and bodies over others and how gender nonconforming people encounter national borders, identity documents, and discuss the perils of migration faced by gender non-conforming persons.

The fourth module on Inclusivity will discuss how transgender people specifically in non-Western contexts have re-signified their identity and fought exclusion through writing about themselves. We will question what categories and labels are generating new knowledge about gender, gender identity and transness? We will conclude the course by reading some influential stories of struggle penned by transgender and nonbinary people coming from diverse ages, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Pedagogical method: Each week, we meet over two two-hour sessions. The readings allotted in the syllabus for each week will be spread over the lecture sessions. Each lecture session will involve expansive discussion on the week’s themes and readings.