Ramzi Fawaz survived the trials of middle school by reading the X-Men comic books. As he grew older, the assistant professor of English wondered if other people formed such strong connections to certain stories, and whether those stories helped them deal with the real world.
Fawaz received his Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University, and is currently completing a book: “The New Mutants: Comic Book Superheroes and Popular Fantasy in Postwar America.”
We caught up with Fawaz to talk about his plans for the school year, his enduring love for Madonna, and more.
Fawaz
Q: Tell us about your work.
A: My research explores the political uses of fantasy, the literature of social movements, LGBT and women’s culture, popular culture, and the intersection of film and literature. Whether I’m writing about superhero comics, popular pulp novels, gay and lesbian poetry, or graphic fiction, my research is always about the ways people use literature and culture to make their lives public and political.
Q: Why are you excited to be at UW-Madison?
A: I can’t wait to work with the kinds of students that are at Madison — to learn from them, and hopefully offer something new and unexpected in the things we read and explore in the classroom. I’ll definitely be making use of the film archives, the local Sundance Film theatre, and other popular culture resources on campus. I always like getting students to experience different kinds of media — literature, film, comics, television.
Q: What courses do you teach?
A: I’ll be teaching a senior seminar on sex, politics, and queer literature since the 1970s. We’ll be reading some radical and exciting writing by the most cutting edge LGBT authors of the late 20th century, to see how their work has changed the way Americans view sexuality and sexual freedom. I’ll also be teaching a university writing course called Queer About Comics: Sexuality and Graphic Fiction.
Q: What can students expect from you in the classroom?
A: My classes try to recreate what it felt like to live and write in a specific historical moment — what was it like to be queer in the 60s and 70s? To fight homophobia, to tell your story, to change history without even knowing it? We’ll ask tons of questions, grapple with tough ideas, and try to grasp why and how writers accomplished what they did. Students, you will learn not only about the subject we’re discussing but about yourselves, and how you tell your own stories.
Q: What’s the most-thumbed book on your shelf?
A: Either Maxine-Hong Kingston’s "The Woman Warrior" or Joe Brainard’s "I Remember" (both of which I’ll be teaching this year).
Q: Who’s on your playlist?
A: Let’s face it, 30 years out and Madonna is still my jam.
Q: What is the best thing you have done in Madison so far?
A: Donuts!
To meet more new faculty members, see our full list of Q&As.