Centering Queer Joy in a New English Canon

• In Event: Queer (Re)Storying of Dreams and Histories

Abstract

This paper uses queer fanfiction in order to create a framework for understanding queer joy in literature. It offers a reimagining of the possible for queer students by presenting an authentic account of queer lives outside of the trauma narratives that dominate much of the current English canon and young adult literature. Whereas much of the research on queer students emphasizes pain, bullying, and suicide, I offer queer joy as an alternative and much needed way to tell queer stories in schools.

Author

• Caitlin O'Loughlin, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill