HIST 415 - Sexuality in American History

This course examines sexuality as a category of analysis in American history. We will explore the different meanings American women and men have attached to sexuality, and the changing political, economic, social, cultural, and ideological contexts in which those meanings have emerged and performed. We can extend what historian Alice Kessler-Harris said of gender and posit that sexuality is “a complex and multi-layered system of social organization.” The relationship of sexuality and power will be a consistent emphasis. The primary approach is reading and discussion, supplemented by lectures, films, music, and related materials and sources.

Credits: 3 hours
NOTE: General Honors Course.
NOTE: History major United States History course.