Arkansas public university offers course in 'queer childhoods' taught by fairy tale scholar

A public university in the deep red state of Arkansas offers an interdisciplinary writing course in its English department called "Queer Childhoods," according to the school's course directory.

The course focuses on "evaluating academic arguments and on writing papers that make an argument and that utilize scholarly sources," says a vague description of the offering on the University of Central Arkansas' website. "The course is thematic, with instructors choosing topics and choosing an interdisciplinary set of readings focused on that topic."

The description does not mention any specifics about the curriculum, and a syllabus is unavailable.

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Christine Case, a visiting assistant professor of English, is listed as the course instructor. Her faculty profile page says she specializes in children's and young adult literature. She earned her Ph.D. in critical and cultural studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 2023.

Her dissertation was titled "Composite Bodies: Race, Gender, and Dis/ability in Fairy Tale Performance."

"This dissertation interrogates the ways in which racial, gendered, dis/abled, and technological modes of embodiment reimagine what fairy tale performances can signify and who they can include," the dissertation begins. "Through a framework of composite bodies, I chart diverse representational possibilities made possible by the appearance and performance of certain bodies in fairytale landscapes, from the crip Disney Park Guest to the Black incarnation of the white Disney Princess.

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Case said the dissertation was inspired by "queer of color critique and contemporary girlhood studies," and that the research "centers interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches to performance, race, gender, and popular culture, particularly in US contexts."

The University of Central Arkansas told Fox News Digital that it had audited more than 3,000 current courses in order to determine whether they run afoul of the state's recently-enacted Arkansas Curriculum Content and Educational Standards for Schools (ACCESS) law.

Certain parts of the law ban DEI and critical race theory ideology. 

As a result, the school will no longer offer the course, according to a spokesperson. 

"UCA has received no student complaints or concerns regarding this course," the spokesperson said. "The university remains committed to maintaining academic rigor, transparency and compliance while continuing to provide students with a broad liberal arts education that develops writing, research and analytical skills essential for success in any field."