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Department of
Women's
Studies

Women's Studies 870

Studies in Sexuality

In contemporary liberal democratic societies, sexuality is often understood as a private matter outside the boundaries of the public sphere. However, many contemporary theoretical perspectives construe sexuality as central not only to personal and social identity, but also to political processes of deliberation, ideological conflict, and the production of multiple forms of citizenship. In this course, we will focus on the intersections and mutual production of lesbian/gay/"queer" identity and politics in the U.S. as a way to understand the role of sexuality in constituting and stabilizing contemporary Western political systems. This course fills a requirement in two primary specialization fields in the Department of Women's Studies: "The State, Economies, and Social Action" and "Sexuality."

Course Objectives

1. Analyze different perspectives on the role of sexuality, including control of sexuality, in constituting and stabilizing modern Western liberal democracies
2. Examine the roles of political "actors," such as democratic citizens, political movements, ideologies, and legal systems in creating change and defending boundaries of citizenship
3. Write in a scholarly book review format

Required Texts

David Gutterman, 2005, Prophetic Politics: Christian Social Movements and American Democracy (Cornell University Press) ISBN: 0801441382

Shane Phelan, 2001, Sexual Strangers: Gays, Lesbians, and Dilemmas of Citizenship. Temple University Press (Temple University Press) ISBN: 1566398282

Chrys Ingraham, ed., 2004, Thinking Straight: The Power, Promise, and Paradox of
Heterosexuality (Routledge) ISBN

Dawne Moon, 2004, God, Sex, and Politics: Homosexuality and Everyday Theologies. (University of Chicago Press) ISBN: 0226535126

Arlene Stein, 2001, The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community's Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights (Beacon Press) ISBN: 0807079537

Anna Marie Smith, 1994, New Right Discourse on Race and Sexuality: Britain 1968-1990 (Cambridge University Press) ISBN: 0521459214

Cathy Cohen, The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the breakdown of Black Politics (University of Chicago Press) ISBN: 978-0226112893

Cynthia Burack, 2008, Sin, Sex, and Democracy: Antigay Rhetoric and the Christian Right (SUNY Press)

Requirements

All readings must be completed by the dates indicated on the schedule below. Class sessions will be conducted on the model of a seminar, so we will discuss the readings and their significance. Verbal participation in class discussions should be offered in a candid, thoughtful, and respectful manner. Intellectual conflict is necessary and healthy for learning, and I encourage seminar participants to question the positions and views of colleagues and authors. Because seminar participants will bring different disciplinary backgrounds to the reading of these texts, we will assume that there is no single correct reading or interpretation.

What we accomplish together in discussion will determine the quality of the course; therefore, attendance is required for all class sessions. Assignments, whether written or oral, must be delivered when they are due. All assignments should be typed using appropriate margins and fonts, and stapled together (no folders). Because of the scale and intellectual complexity of projects, graduate work generally requires a high degree of planning and self-motivation. Your success as a graduate student will depend in part upon your ability to balance tasks and to work continuously toward their completion.

A note on participation: This class is a graduate-level seminar. Therefore, active participation on the part of students is necessary for the success of the class and is an academic requirement for the course. Contributions to discussions are part of good citizenship in intellectual feminist communities. Participation is also an academic requirement, and, just as with written work, it is evaluated. Students should prepare contributions (points and questions) and strive to improve their public speaking skills.  The only exceptions to this requirement will be made because of a disability or an upbringing through college education in a culture that does not foster widespread public speaking (outside of the U.S.). Students who have difficulties fulfilling this part of graduate work should consult with their professor(s) to devise strategies for overcoming their particular challenges.

The Office for Disability Services (ODS) offers a variety of services and auxiliary aids for students with documented disabilities. To access services, students must provide ODS with documentation of the disability. ODS is located in 150 Pomerene Hall; you can contact them at 292-3307.

Assignments

Papers
A total of five (4) critical papers will be required for completion of this course. Each paper should be written as a book review and should satisfy the following criteria:

• Papers must be turned in on the day for which the reading assignment that provides the subject matter of the paper is due
• Papers must be written in a scholarly style consistent with reviews published in professional journals
• Papers must be between 1200 and 1500 words in length, with a word count at the end of the paper 
• Additional instructions about papers will be given in the seminar

Class Presentation
In the course of the quarter, each student will present course material and lead discussion for one class session. The course material to be presented will be assigned during the first class meeting. A presentation should be no longer than ten minutes and should give the major arguments of the reading with critical comments. Generally, a good presentation does not require you to track the author's claims and arguments from chapter to chapter. Rather, a good presentation is synthetic, taking important points and arguments and weaving them together into a whole that represents the original work but also moves beyond it in a creative way.

In addition to the oral presentation, you should prepare a one-page presentation guide and pass it out to all seminar participants. This guide should include the points you will cover in your presentation as well as two discussion questions for the class. Be judicious about the material you choose to present in this guide because your presentation space will be limited. In format, the presentation guide should be double-spaced with one-inch margins and 12-point font. You may not write a paper on the book you present in class.

Grading
The course grade will consist of an average of five scores: the four paper grades and the oral presentation (including presentation guide).

Schedule of Readings
Please give close attention to due dates for reading and assignments. Any change will be regarded as a formal alteration to the syllabus after it has been announced in class.

Introduction

Week 1:
Thr Mar 27 And introductions. Assignment of class presentation material and guidelines for written assignments.
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, "Religious Beliefs Underpin Opposition to Homosexuality" http://pewforum.org/publications/surveys/religion-homosexuality.pdf
Norris and Inglehart, "God, Guns, and Gays: Religion and Politics in the US and Western Europe" http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/Acrobat/APSA%202004%20Secularization.pdf

Week 2:
Thr Apr 3 Gutterman, Prophetic Politics: Christian Social Movements and American Democracy, Chapters 1-3 (pps 1-93)
_______________

Week 3:
Thr Apr 10 Gutterman, Prophetic Politics: Christian Social Movements and American Democracy, Chapters 4-6 (pps 94-171)
_______________

Week 4: 
Thr Apr 17 Phelan, Sexual Strangers: Gays, Lesbians, and Dilemmas of Citizenship, all
_______________

All [Sexual] Politics are Local

Week 5:
Thr Apr 24 Moon, God, Sex, and Politics: Homosexuality and Everyday Theologies, All.
_______________

Week 6:
Thr May 1 Stein, The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community's Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights, All
_______________

Ideology and Representation

Week 7:
Thr May 8 Cohen, The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the breakdown of Black Politics, All
_______________

Week 8:
Thr May 15 Ingraham, Thinking Straight: The Power, Promise, and Paradox of Heterosexuality, Introduction, Chapters TBA
_______________

Identity and National Politics

Week 9:
Thr May 22 Smith, New Right Discourse on Race and Sexuality, Introduction-Chapter 1; Chapter 5-Conclusion (pps 1-69; 183-243)
_______________

Week 10:
Thr May 29 Burack, Sin, Sex, and Democracy: Antigay Rhetoric and the Christian Right, All