GSS 250 Sexuality Studies
The main premise to be studied in this course is that human sexuality is not a given of nature but the product of myriad social and political forces. This course does not negate the biological aspects of the human sexual response, but does argue that the pleasures of the body in any given culture and/or moment in history are facilitated and constrained by the legal, medical and ethical systems that characterize that particular moment in space and time. Utilizing a social constructionist, historically radical, and global approach, this course will allow the student to analyze the impact of political economic, cultural, and social arrangements on the systematization of our sexual and other erotic experiences. Of particular interest in this intellectual journey will be the intersection of matters of sex and eroticism with concerns regarding race, gender, class, and nation, among others. As suggested above, this course will utilize knowledge from a variety of disciplines, including, but not limited to history, sociology, anthropology, economics, literature, and philosophy.