Samantha Dolores Sanchinel

Teaching

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SDS381: Intro to Trans Studies

[ syllabus download ]

The focus of this course will be on the lived experiences of trans folk. As such, this course aims to tackle the questions surrounding the sustenance and survival of trans life. When we examine current and historical trans issues, we do it through a critical lens, asking ourselves “what is the intention of the author? How is “trans” imagined? What does trans embodiment say about the possibilities of life? And what are the politics in the text?” We will draw from a wide range of disciplines and texts including autoethnography, philosophy, video essays, bioethics, films, liturgy, gender studies—to study trans embodiment through transnational, decolonial, and intersectional ways and work towards trans futurities of collaboration and solidarity.

WGS271: Gender and Pop Culture

Image attribution: A.L. Gariba
[ syllabus download ]

Why do stories matter? How do they shape our selves and the worlds we inhabit? How, in turn, do worldly conditions shape the stories we tell? And what does storytelling have to do with what we mean by “we”? This course introduces you to the intersections of feminism(s) and cultural studies. Throughout this course we will learn about key cultural studies concepts and the questions they prompt about how stories circulate, why representation matters, and what audiences and critics do with popular media. We will explore these concepts and questions through a variety of forms and genres, including music, comics, photography, and films. By emphasizing that culture is a terrain of struggle and focusing on how texts and images do what they do, this course helps you acquire the skills to creatively engage with pop cultural storytelling.

WGS470: Politicizing Culture - Pop Feminism and Representation

[ syllabus download ]

This course examines the intricate relationships among feminism, culture, power and representation. Major themes include: the construction of gendered, sexualized, and racialized subjectivities; ideologies and the media; bio-and communication technologies; neoliberalism and neocolonialism; and counter interpretations, reclamations, and remixes of hegemonic cultural forms.

WGS376: Studies in Queer and Trans

[ syllabus download ]

This course primarily considers life: queer and trans life. In our shared moment of emergency, with feelings of melancholy, depression, and hopelessness, how do we live? We will be delving into the theories and methods for trans and queer survival and flourishing along with zines, archives, poems, cookbooks from “academic” and “non-academic” sources. We will have a dedicated focus on community and friendship as a method of doing QT Studies. As such, we will consider, how can we create a global community? How to trans and queer people survive and thrive transnationally? How can decolonization, abolition, activism, and questioning our approaches to QT Studies create change in the world around us?

Assignments Designed

Image attribution: Universal Design for Learning (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by giulia.forsythe

Below you can find examples of assignments and rubrics I have designed for my courses. In my courses and assignments I try to work within a Universal Design for Learning approach which values student engagement, clarity of instructions and supportive learning environments for all students. The assignments sampled range from formative and diagnostic assignments like critical reflections to creative assignments like a “Pop Culture Journey Map” and summative assignments like Final Projects.