In teaching the films--which include other documentaries and Asian cinema--Julien seeks to end what he calls an unnecessary separation between discussions of race and sexuality.

"Why do questions of queerness remain under-theorized in debates around race and representation, and why are questions of race more or less disavowed in queer cinema?" the syllabus asks.

In addition to watching the films--shown every Monday at 5:30 p.m.--students must write one five to six page paper and another 10 to 15 page paper. There is no midterm or final.

Each three-hour class begins with Julien's lecture and ends with a discussion with the filmmaker. Fewer than 40 people attended the first lecture.

"Anybody who's kind of trendy [or] thinking about different issues of identity" would enjoy the course, Julien says.

James C. Augustine '01, a women's studies concentrator, says he wants to take the class because it mixes queer theory and performance theory.

"It's one of the few courses that seems to be really focusing on that sort of stuff," he says.

The course meets Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m. in the Carpenter Center. Julien also teaches Afro-American Studies 187y, "Black Cinema as Genre--From Blax-ploitation to Quentin Tarantino" this semester.