WSTD 422 - History of Sexuality

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Rabberman. Master in Liberal Arts course. In this course, we will explore some of the most pressing, controversial, and intriguing questions that historians of sexuality have debated in the past few decades. Rather than simply debating changes in sexual practices over time, we will discuss the ways in which different societies in the past and present constructed sexual norms and understood normality and deviance in sexual terms. We will focus special attention on the following questions: To what extent are sexual identities constructed by different cultures, rather than simply being determined biologically What influence do social, economic, and political conditions have on social constructions of sexuality How have different societies used sexual norms to mark "natural" practices from "deviant" ones, and how are these norms connected to societies' power structures We will explore case studies from Classical Greece through the contemporary United States. Our readings will explore topics such as medieval and modern views of the body, gender, sexuality, and science; prostitutes in medieval and Victorian England; same-sex relationships from classical Greece to medieval Europe to the contemporary United States; expectations for sexuality within and outside marriage; hermaphrodites; and sexual deviants, among others. Students will be expected to participate actively in class discussions, and to complete short response papers and a longer research paper.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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