AMST 30326 - Sex, Sexuality and Gender in the United States to 1880

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

American Studies

Description:

Sexuality, like other areas of social life, has a history. Yet historians have only written about the history of sex for the last 40 years or so. This course will both introduce students to a variety of current themes in the history of sexuality and invite them to consider how they themselves might research and write that history. The class will survey recent topics in the history of sexuality from first colonial settlement to the end of the Victorian era. Issues we may consider include different religions' attitudes towards sexuality (the Puritans were not anti-sex!), how different cultures' views of sex shaped relations between colonists and Indians, why sex was an important factor in establishing laws about slavery in Virginia, birth control and abortion practices, changing patterns of courtship, men who loved men and women who loved women, and why the average number of children in American families fell by 50 percent between 1790 and 1890. Over the course of the semester, students will also design a small research proposal on some aspect of the history of American sexuality prior to 1890. Written assignments will include a weekly journal, midterm and final examinations; a book review; and a small research project.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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