Using a Black cultural studies approach to affect theory, a field of scholarship dedicated to the humanistic study of feeling, students will engage art that prioritizes a lesser known definition of tenderness, e.g. the sensitivity from a prior wound. Throughout the semester, we will read fiction, legal documents, lyrics, poetry, prose, and theory; listen to Black music, podcasts, and interviews; and watch documentary, film, and music videos. Questions to explore include, what is tenderness? What is affect theory s relationship to gender, race, and sexuality? What qualities of Black/queer life come into focus when artists subvert assumptions of their (in)capacity? What do they risk when uncommon forms of tenderness resist racial/gender norms and deviate from what is deemed respectable?