Sociology of Sexualities

Catalog description

This course is designed to introduce students to the sociological study of sexuality. We will seek to understand how sex and sexuality have influenced individuals and social domains. By examining past perceptions of, reactions to, and issues surrounding sexuality, we can explore what has been accepted, rejected, and why. The course will primarily draw from a sociological perspective, it will also be somewhat inter-disciplinary in nature. This course is a seminar-style examination of human sexuality from a sociological perspective. While often thought of as a "biological function," this course draws upon a diverse literature to frame the theoretical and empirical understanding of human sexuality as a socially constructed product. This class theoretically examines and compares biological, psychological, and sociological explanations of human sexual activity as a historically and culturally contingent phenomena. Prerequisites: Junior Status (classification of student).