Fall 2023

History of Sexuality in the U.S.

Listed in: History, as HIST-162  |  Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies, as SWAG-162

Faculty

Jen Manion (Section 01)

Description

(Offered as HIST 162 [US/TC/TS] and SWAG 162) Sexuality is a product of history and culture. This course will survey sex throughout United States history in relation to the various discourses of power and difference that have given it meaning, such as class, ethnicity, gender, race, and religion. Topics covered include the legal and social history of marriage, sex education, sexuality and the family during and after slavery, masculinity and the Western frontier, sexology and the invention of homosexuality, the making of urban gay subcultures, feminism and sexual liberation, the politics of abortion, HIV/AIDS, the LGBT rights movement, and the transgender revolution. We will consider the ways in which the study of sexuality creates opportunities to re-think major themes in U.S. social, cultural, and political history, with emphasis on the history of medicine, the history of social change, and the history of the family.

Two class meetings per week. Limited to 30 students with 10 seats reserved for first-year students. Fall semester. Professor Manion.

How to handle overenrollment: priority to first and second year students

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on reading, writing papers, and working together in small groups.

HIST 162 - LEC

Section 01
Tu 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM CHAP 201
Th 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM CHAP 201

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
Documenting Intimate Matters: Primary Sources for a History of Sexuality in America U of Chicago Press, 2012 Thomas Foster Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2023, Fall 2024