The History of Sexualities in the Modern West

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2018

It is easy to imagine sexuality as natural, bodily, instinctual—something that emanates from the essential self. But the forms that desires and even needs take are highly specific to place and time. That is, they have histories. This course addresses sexuality within its ever-changing cultural contexts, and seeks to understand how ideas about sex, sex acts, and sexual identities and attitudes have transformed over time. In turn, we look at the ways in which sexuality has served as a fulcrum for broader social struggles.