Ezra's Bookshelf

Poor Queer Studies: Confronting Elitism in the University

by Matt Brim · 146 pages · ~2.5 hrs

EducationGender & Feminism

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Queer studies emerged from elite universities and continues to be produced primarily at flagship institutions, a pattern that Matt Brim argues has impoverished the field. Drawing on his experience teaching at the College of Staten Island, a working-class campus in the CUNY system, Brim shows how theoretical sophistication often comes at the cost of accessibility, and how the field's investment in difficulty excludes the queer students and scholars who most need its insights. The book develops a methodology Brim calls poor queer studies, which takes seriously the constraints faced by scholars at under-resourced institutions and the students they teach. This means attending to material conditions: the adjunct labor that produces much scholarship, the students working multiple jobs, the libraries without adequate holdings, the lack of travel funds for conferences. It also means rethinking what counts as knowledge production, valuing teaching and mentorship alongside publication. Brim is critical of how queer theory has sometimes performed radicalism while remaining embedded in systems of class privilege. He offers an alternative vision grounded in collaboration, accessibility, and solidarity across institutional hierarchies. Readers interested in higher education, queer studies, or how class shapes intellectual life will find Brim's critique challenging and his alternatives inspiring.

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