University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Curriculum Proposal Form #3
New Course
Effective Term:
2127 (Fall 2012)
Subject Area - Course Number: History 361
Cross-listing:
(See Note #1 below)
Course Title: (Limited to 65 characters)
History of Sexuality
25-Character Abbreviation:
History of Sexuality
Sponsor(s):
Jennifer Thibodeaux
Department(s):
History
College(s):
Letters and Sciences
Consultation took place:
NA
Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)
Departments: Women's Studies
Programs Affected:
Is paperwork complete for those programs? (Use "Form 2" for Catalog & Academic Report updates)
NA
Yes
Prerequisites:
will be at future meeting
Sophomore standing or consent of the instructor
Grade Basis:
Conventional Letter
S/NC or Pass/Fail
Course will be offered:
Part of Load
On Campus
Above Load
Off Campus - Location
College:
Letters and Sciences
Instructor:
Jennifer Thibodeaux
Dept/Area(s): History
Note: If the course is dual-listed, instructor must be a member of Grad Faculty.
Check if the Course is to Meet Any of the Following:
Technological Literacy Requirement
Diversity
Writing Requirement
General Education Option: Select one:
Note: For the Gen Ed option, the proposal should address how this course relates to specific core courses, meets the goals of General Education in
providing breadth, and incorporates scholarship in the appropriate field relating to women and gender.
Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
Total lab hours:
Number of credits:
3
Total contact hours:
Total lecture hours:
48
Can course be taken more than once for credit? (Repeatability)
No
Yes
If "Yes", answer the following questions:
No of times in major:
No of times in degree:
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No of credits in major:
No of credits in degree:
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48
Proposal Information: (Procedures for form #3)
Course justification:
This course builds the existing offerings in Global/Comparative history currently offered by the
History Department. In particular, there are few course offerings in this category at the upper-level. As a
course focused on the comparative study of human sexuality in many cultures and time periods, using the
case study method, this course helps to satisfy the university’s mission of global education and diversity.
Relationship to program assessment objectives:
This course will expand the History Major course offerings at the 300-level in the
Global/Comparative category, which is required of most history majors.
This course will contribute to several other of the History Department’s core objectives. First, it
will present the history of sexuality in a comparative context, thereby achieving one of the primary goals of
the History program which is to enable students to achieve an understanding of history that is “broad
geographically, temporally and thematically.”
Secondly, the course also encourages students to practice basic skills and exemplify proficiency,
such as to “critically read/analyze multiple types of secondary sources” as well as primary sources. This is
a primary objective of the History program.
Thirdly, the course will require students to engage in research and writing, both of which are main
goals of the History program. Students will “identify and contextualize multiple elements of
historiographic debate,” by reading scholarly articles and writing short papers (2 pages) about different
scholarly interpretations of sexuality in a historical context. Also, they will write a research paper of 5-7
pages in length; this exercise fulfills the History department writing requirement and encourages the
practice of using “library and historical archives for research,” to “develop research questions on a focused
topic,” and to “use relevant historical databases and research tools.” Students enrolled in 300-level history
courses are expected to practice these skills.
Budgetary impact:
. This course will be taught as part of the regular rotation of courses by Professor Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux has been teaching the departmental senior seminar course for three years and will step out of
that rotation after Spring 2011. This leaves room for the development of a new course.
Course description: (50 word limit)
This course is a survey focused on the comparative examination of particular themes in the
history of sexuality worldwide from the society of ancient Greece to the modern world. Students
will be introduced to the historical study of such themes as same-sex behavior, pornography,
prostitution, birth control and disease, among others.
If dual listed, list graduate level requirements for the following:
1. Content (e.g., What are additional presentation/project requirements?)
2. Intensity (e.g., How are the processes and standards of evaluation different for graduates and
undergraduates? )
3. Self-Directed (e.g., How are research expectations differ for graduates and undergraduates?)
Course objectives and tentative course syllabus:
During this course, students will be expected to:


Students will acquire a knowledge of the problems and issues involved in studying the history of human
sexuality
Students will understand issues of sexuality in a comparative geographical and/or chronological context
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



Students will enhance their critical thinking skills and acquire advance writing skills through several written
assignments
Analyze historical evidence in the form of primary source documents.
Critically read secondary sources on the history of sexuality, recognizing the authors’ major arguments and
the types of evidence they employ.
Construct a written historical arguments with appropriate use of sources.
Course Objectives and tentative course syllabus with mandatory information (paste syllabus below):
History 361: History of Sexuality
Fall 2012
Dr. J. Thibodeaux (pronounced TI-BO-DOE)
(syllabus subject to revision at discretion of instructor)
MW 11-12:15 PM
Office: 218 White Hall
Office Phone: 472-1116
Office Hours: MW 1:30-3:30 PM, T 5:00-6 PM or by appointment
Email: thibodej@uww.edu
Course Description: This course is a survey of the comparative themes in the history of sexuality
worldwide from the society of ancient Greece to the modern world. It fulfills the Global/Comparative
requirement for the history major.
Course Objectives:






Students will acquire a knowledge of the problems and issues involved in studying the history of human
sexuality
Students will understand issues of sexuality in a comparative geographical and/or chronological context
Students will enhance their critical thinking skills and acquire advance writing skills through several written
assignments
Students will analyze historical evidence in the form of primary source documents.
Students will critically read secondary sources on the history of sexuality, recognizing the authors’ major
arguments and the types of evidence they employ.
Students will construct written historical arguments with appropriate use of sources.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of the instructor.
Required Text: Stephen Garton, Histories of Sexuality: Antiquity to Sexual Revolution, (NY: Routledge,
2004), available at Textbook Rental.
Mathew Kuefler, The History of Sexuality Sourcebook, (Univ. of Toronto, 2007) available at Bookstore
All other readings can be found on D2L, JSTOR, e-reserve or regular reserve.
Course Requirements:
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Participation, 15%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam
20%
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Article Reviews, 25%
Short analytical paper, 20%
Participation (15%): If you don’t read, you cannot participate. You are permitted two days for absences (excused
and unexcused) and each subsequent absence will result in a 10 point deduction per absence from your participation
grade.
Article Reviews (25%): You must complete 6 of the 8 article reviews listed for the assigned readings. These options
are denoted by **. This assignment has two goals: (1) to ensure that you are reading the assignments scheduled and
are prepared for discussion, and (2) that you learn to read analytically.
These papers should be 2 pages in length, typed. Article Reviews are NOT summaries. They are critical
responses to the assigned readings. Article Reviews will be graded on the basis of High Pass, Pass, and Low Pass. A
link on D2L will provide you with further information about this component. NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED.
“Old Bailey” analytical paper (20%): Your formal paper will be a short (5-6 pages) analysis of the court records
found in the online database The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London, 1674 to 1834 (www.oldbaileyonline.org).
You will use this database to analyze a category of sexual offenses. Detailed instructions will be distributed
separately. The due date for this assignment is February 27 in class. On February 9, your topic selection is due to
the D2L dropbox by NOON.
Midterm and Final Exam (40%): a midterm and final exam will be held during class time.
Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct
Plagiarism of written assignments, formal and informal, and cheating on exams
is entirely forbidden and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent under University
regulations. If I catch you cheating or committing any act of plagiarism, whether minor
or serious, I will assign you an F in the course and pursue your suspension from the
university.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory
learning environment. It is a responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize
themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Misconduct, Religious Beliefs
Accommodation, Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events. (For details please refer to
the Undergraduate and Graduate Timetables; the “rights and responsibilities” section of the
Undergraduate Bulletin; the Academic Requirements and Policies and the Facilities and Services sections
of the Graduate Bulletin; and the “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures” (UWS Chapter 14); and the
“Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures” (UWS Chapter 17).
Schedule of Readings
( )Background reading is noted in parentheses for each unit
**Readings denoted by double star are article review options
Week 1
Week 2


Course introduction; Theory and methods of studying sexuality
(Histories, chapter 1, “Writing Sexual History”)
Male Same-sex relationships
(Histories, chapter 2, “Rule of the Phallus,”)
David D. Cohen, “Law, Sex and Homosexuality in Classical Athens,” Past and Present 117 (1987): 3-21
[JSTOR]
Kuefler, “Pederasty in Greek Art,” 73; “Poem of Theocritus,” 73-4.
**Ruth Karras, “Ut cum muliere: A Male transvestite prostitute in Medieval
London”
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
Peter A. Jackson, “The Persistence of Gender: From Ancient Indian Pandakas to Modern Thai GayQuings,” online at www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/AHR/archive/Issue-April-1996/Jackson.html
Week 3
Female Same-Sex relationships
(Histories, chapter 4, “Christian Friendships)
 Bernadette Brooten, “Of Sappho, Woman-Woman Marriage and the Ways of the
Egyptians,” chapter two, Love between Women
**Jennifer Robertson, “Dying to Tell: Sexuality and Suicide in Imperial Japan,” Signs 25:1
(1999), 1-35. [JSTOR]
 Bennett, “ ‘Lesbian-like’ and the Social History of Lesbianisms,” Journal of the History
of Sexuality 9 (2000): 1-24 [JSTOR]
NOTE: Topic selection DUE for Old Bailey paper; deposit to D2L dropbox by NOON
Week 4
Sexual Renunciation
•Kuefler, The early life of the Buddha, 135-6; Buddha and Tara, 138-9; A Hindu writer on
Buddhist sexual renunciation, 186
• Kuefler, Jesus on Sex and marriage, 143, 146; Paul on sex and marriage, 144-5
Week 5
Sexuality and the holy: celibacy and Catholic priests in the Middle Ages and
modern day America
(Histories, chapter 3, “Sexual Austerity”)
**Mark Jordan, “Memoirs of priestly sodomy,” chapter 5, The Silence of Sodom
 Andrew Greeley, “Sexual orientation and celibacy,” Priests: A Calling in Crisis
 R.N. Swanson, “Angels Incarnate: Clergy and Masculinity from Gregorian Reform to
Reformation”
Week 6
Prostitution
**Luisa White, “Prostitution, Identity, and Class Consciousness in Nairobi during World War II,”
Signs 11/2 (1986):255-73 [JSTOR]
 Mary Elizabeth Perry, “ ‘Lost Women’ in Early Modern Seville: The Politics of
Prostitution,” Feminist Studies 4/1 (Feb 1978): 195-214 [JSTOR]
 Mary Beard and John Henderson, “With this Body I thee worship: Sacred Prostitution
in Antiquity,” Gender and History 9/3 (1997) 480-503.
Week 7
Prostitution: History of Sexuality or History of Labor?
• Kuefler, Marx and Engels on the Family, 219
• Kuefler, Prostitution in Bombay, 318
•Kuefler, Regulation of Prostitution, 334
• Kuefler, A Muckraker on Prostitution, 336
• Kuefler, Prostitution in Thailand, 408
Week 8
Prosecution of Sexual Offenses in early modern and modern England: Records of
the Old Bailey [“Old Bailey” analytical paper DUE]
Week 9
Film: “Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She”
Week 10
Invention of pornography: Two perspectives on the Marquis de Sade
(Histories, pp.89-95)
** Kathryn Norberg, “The Libertine Whore” in Invention of Pornography
 Pornography selections: Juliette ; See also online, Justine
(www.globusz.com/ebooks/Justine) and 120 Days of Sodom
(www.globusz.com/ebooks/120Days)
 Andrea Dworkin, Pornography, excerpt
 Angela Carter, Sadeian Woman, excerpt
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
Kuefler, Marquis de Sade, 209-10
Week11
Uses of pornography
 Lynn Hunt, “The Many Bodies of Marie-Antoinette: Political Pornography and the
Problem of the Feminine in the French Revolution” in Marie-Antoinette: Writings on the
Body of the a Queen;
 Elizabeth Colwill, “Pass as a Woman, Act Like A Man: Marie-Antoinette as Tribade in
the Pornography of the French Revolution” in Marie-Antoinette: Writings on the Body of
a Queen;
**Robert F. Sutton, “Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery,” in Pornography and
Representation in Greece and Rome, 3-35
Week 12
Sex Across the Color Line: Perceptions of Interracial Sex
(Histories, chapter 7, “Dominance and Desire”)
 Trevor Burnard, “The Sexual Life of an Eighteenth-Century Jamaican Slave Overseer” in Sex and
Sexuality in Early America, edited by Merril D. Smith, pp. 163-189.
 Richard Godbeer, “ ‘The Cameleon Lover”: Sex, Race and Cultural Identity in
the Colonial South” pp.190-224.
** John Pape, “Black and White: The ‘Perils of Sex’ in Colonial Zimbabwe,” Journal of Southern
African Studies 16/4 (December 1990): 699-720 [JSTOR]
• Kuefler, Missionary in Tahiti, 245-6
Week 13
Sexual Advice: Youths, Single People and Married Couples
(Histories, chapter 11, “Sexual Revolution”)
 Beth Bailey, “Sex Control,” From Front Porch to Back Seat
 Paula Fass, “Sexual Mores in the World of Youth,” The Damned and the
Beautiful
**Benjamin Roberts, “Sexual Advice for Youth in Holland’s Golden Age,” Journal of the
History of Sexuality 13/2 (April 2004) [JSTOR]
• Kuefler, Helen Gurley Brown on being Sexy, 387
• Kuefler, Martin Luther on sex and marriage, 205-7
Week 14
Science and Sexuality
•Kuefler, Problem with Masturbation, 268-9
•Anti-Hysteria Device, 270-1
•The Kinsey Report, 279
•Evelyn Hooker’s Research on Homosexuality, 284-6
• Neither Men nor Women, 286
Week 15
Birth Control, Disease and Sexuality
• Kuefler, Margaret Sanger and Ghandi on Birth Control, 344
•Abortion Arguments, 354
• Spread of AIDS and Global Migration, 406
The final exam will be held during the university-scheduled time.
Bibliography: (Key or essential references only. Normally the bibliography should be no more than one or two
pages in length.)
Bland, Lucy and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology Uncensored: The Documents of Sexual Science. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1998
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Boyarin, Daniel. "Are There Any Jews in `The History of Sexuality'?" Journal of the History of Sexuality
5:3 (1995): 333-55.
Brown, Judith C., Immodest Acts - The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, (New York: Oxford
UP, 1986)
Bullough, Vern L. and James A. Brundage. Handbook of medieval sexuality. New York : Garland Pub.,
1996
Clark, Elizabeth A. "Antifamilial Tendencies in Ancient Christianity." Journal of the History of Sexuality
5:3 (1995): 356-80.
Evans, David T., Sexual Citizenship: The Material Construction of Sexualities, (New York: Routledge,
1993)
Garton, Stephen. Histories of Sexuality: Antiquity to Sexual Revolution, (NY: Routledge, 2004)
Gilbert, Arthur N., "Conceptions of Homosexuality and Sodomy in Western History", Journal of
Homosexuality 6:1/2 (1980), pp. 57-68
Greenberg, David F., The Construction of Homosexuality, (Chicago: Chicago UP, 1988)
Herdt, Gilbert , ed. Third sex, third gender : beyond sexual dimorphism in culture and history, (New York:
Zone Books, 1994)
Karras, Ruth Mazo. Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. Routledge, 2008.
Kuefler, Mathew. The History of Sexuality Sourcebook, (Univ. of Toronto, 2007)
Lancaster, Roger and Micaela di Leonardo, eds., The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political
Economy,(New York: Routledge: 1997)
Lerner, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy, (New York: Oxford UP, 1986)
Mangan, J. A. "Men, Masculinity, and Sexuality: Some Recent Literature." Journal of the History of
Sexuality 3:2 (1992): 303-13
Ruch, Libby O. "Sexual Violence against Women." Journal of the History of Sexuality 2:4 (1992): 634-40
Sawyer, Erin. "Celibate Pleasures: Masculinity, Desire, and Asceticism in Augustine." Journal of the
History of Sexuality 6:1 (1995): 1-29
Weeks, Jeffrey, Sex, Politics and Society, (London: Longman, 1981)
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