SEXUALITIES: SOCIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL & LEGAL CONTEXTS
UNI 256 H
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, ST. GEORGE CAMPUS
SPRING 2008
Course Director: Adam Isaiah Green
Teaching Assistant:
Office Address: 725 Spadina, Room 374
Email:
Office Hours: Wed 6:00-7:00, or by appointment.
Phone: 416-978-8261
Email: AdamIsaiah.Green@utoronto.ca
______________________________________________________________________________
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed as an introduction to sociological and
feminist approaches to the study of sexuality, with a focus on the modern West. In this regard,
the course has at least two goals. First, students will be exposed to a range of ways that
sociologists/feminists make sense of sexuality, sexual identity, sexual community, and eroticism,
including the social regulation of sexuality in policing and education, the relationship of Western
capitalism and commercialization to sexuality, the relationship of sexual desire to race, class, and
ethnic cleavages, and the relationship of sexual identity, sexual practice and eroticism to the
institutions of heterosexuality, marriage and family. Second, students will read sociological
counterparts to some of major works on sexuality that circulate today in the humanities,
including scholarship that responds to, takes up, critiques and, arguably, transcends the work of
Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and poststructural approaches more generally.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students will be responsible for reading and analyzing a
considerable amount of literature each class. Students should come to class prepared to discuss
these questions and to fully engage the readings.
EXAMS: There will be two essay exams for this class. The exam materials will be based on
lectures and course readings. All exams will consist of two to four essay questions. Students will
be permitted use of any printed materials distributed or purchased for the course during exams.
Because writing skills are essential for the exams of this course, students are urged to seek out
assistance from the University of Toronto writing centre should they anticipate problems in this
area. The writing centre can be visited on the web at: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/centres.html
GRADING POLICY: Final course grades will be calculated using the following formula:
Midterm Test: 50%
Final Test:
50%
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Course kit*
*All course kits are available at Alicos, located on the North side of Bloor Street just West of
Spadina.
CLASS RULES AND REGULATIONS: Attendance is mandatory. Students absent from class
penalize themselves, as the material covered in lectures and in class discussions will reappear on
the midterm and final exams.
EXAM POLICY:
1.
Make-ups for exams will require documentation of a medical or related emergency. They
will not be offered for any other reason.
2.
Exams handed in late will be docked 5 points off the total score of the exam for each day
past the due date. Thus, an exam that starts at 100 points is reduced by 5 points for each day of
tardiness.
3.
No student will be allowed an extension on an exam short of medical/family emergencies
with supporting documentation.
Please note: Students with personal, family, or medical difficulties that threaten to have a
persistent effect on academic performance should consult his/her College Registrar. The College
Registrar has the appropriate training, experience, and resources to deal with these kinds of
problems.
4.
While students may study together, no student will share his/her take-home exam with
another student before submission. This is a form of plagiarism, and is as unacceptable as if you
shared your paper with another student during an in-class exam. Students who violate this rule will
face formal penalties for plagiarism under University of Toronto’s plagiarism policy.
5.
Students with special educational needs must bring appropriate documentation and
associated protocol for testing and exam procedures. There are NO circumstances under which the
instructor will provide lecture notes to students.
6.
Students who are dissatisfied with their exam grades have one week to address their
concerns, in writing, to the instructor. The format for contesting a grade begins with a 1-2 page
typed document, submitted to the instructor, outlining why the grade is inappropriate. I and the
grader for the course will then review the claim and respond in writing, either by email or hard
copy. Students who remain unhappy with the response should make an appointment with the
instructor to review the case.
7.
Grades will never be changed without an explicit reason related to the quality of the
work—i.e., students cannot simply request a higher grade to round up their GPA.
PLAGIARISM:
Students must consult the University of Toronto guidelines for plagiarism. These guidelines will
be vigorously enforced. Students who plagiarize will be given the strictest possible penalty.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
WEEK 1
Jan 9:
WELCOME
Introductions:
Defining sex and gender
Course content and syllabus
WEEK 2
Jan 16:
SEXUALITY AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DEVIANCE
Peter Conrad & Joseph Schneider. Deviance and Medicalization Ch. 7
Gayle Rubin’s “Charmed Circle”
WEEK 3
Jan 23:
FOUCAULT, POWER, CLASS & MODERN SEXUALITY
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality Vol. 1, pp 81-131
WEEK 4
Jan 30:
REVISING FOUCAULT: AGENCY AND DISCOURSE
Anthony Giddens. The Transformation of Intimacy. Chapter 2
Barry Adam. “Love and Sex in Constructing Identity”…
WEEK 5
Feb 6:
CAPITALISM AND HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY
John D’Emilio. “Capitalism and Gay Identity”
Tomas Almaguer. “Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Identity…”
WEEK 6*
Feb 13:
BEFORE SEXUAL ORIENTATION
George Chauncey, Gay New York, Chapters 2, 4.
*MIDTERM TAKE-HOME TEST DISTRIBUTED: DUE FEB 27 BEFORE CLASS!
WEEK 7
Feb 20
READING WEEK. NO CLASS
WEEK 8
Feb 27:
SEXUALITY AND GENDER AS PATRIARCHAL INSTITUTIONS
Adrienne Rich. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence.”
Reese Simpkins. “Feminist Transmasculinities.”
WEEK 9
Mar 5:
EROTICISM, GENDER & POWER
Catharine MacKinnon. “Pleasure Under Patriarchy.”
Hollibough & Moraga. “What We’re Rollin’ Around in Bed With…”
WEEK 10
Mar 12:
TRANSGENDER
Lecture: What is “transgender”?
Jason Cromwell: Transmen & FTMs (Chapters 1-3)
Guest Speaker: Ty Smith.
WEEK 11
Mar 19:
THE (IN)STABILITY OF SEX & GENDER CLASSIFICATIONS
Verta Taylor and Leila Rupp: “Chicks with Dicks: Men in Dresses”…
Tarik Bereket & Barry Adam. “The Emergence of Gay Identity...”
WEEK 12
Mar 26:
COLLECTIVE SEXUAL LIFE IN LATE MODERNITY
Adam Isaiah Green. “The Social Organization of Desire…”
Elizabeth Bernstein. “The Meaning of the Purchase.”
WEEK 13
April 2:
INTIMACY & LATE MODERNITY
Antony Giddens. The Transformation of Intimacy. Chapters 4, 8.
WEEK 14*
April 9:
REVIEW
Course review
*FINAL TEST DISTRIBUTED: DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, BY 6PM!