Schedule
Week 1 (Aug. 24, 26, 28)
Introduction and Overview
Topics
- What is anthropology?
- Introduction to sexuality
- Strategies for success in this course
Required reading
Haviland, W., H. E. L. Prins et al. Anthropology: The Human Challenge. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2005.
Tiefer, Leonore. “The Kiss.” Sex is Not a Natural Act and Other Essays. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004. 77-84.
Week 2 (Aug. 31, Sept. 2, 4)
Approaches to Human Sexuality
Topics
- Theory and method in sexuality research
- Social science perspectives on sexuality
- Sex, natural selection, and human evolution
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 1
de Waal, Frans B. M. “Bonobo Sex and Society,” Scientific American 272.3 (1995): 82-88.
Week 3 (Sept. 9, 11)
Male Sexual Anatomy and Physiology
No class Sept. 7, Labor Day
Topics
- Male sexual and reproductive system
- Circumcision
- Does size matter?
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 2 (p. 36-50)
Darby, Robert. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Why Can’t We Stop Circumcising Boys?,” Contexts 4.2 (2005): 34-39.
Week 4 (Sept. 14, 16, 18)
Female Sexual Anatomy and Physiology
Reaction paper 1 due Sept. 18
Topics
- Female sexual and reproductive system
- Menstruation and menopause: a biocultural perspective
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 2 (p. 50-71)
Lock, Margaret. “Menopause: Lessons From Anthropology,” Psychosomatic Medicine 60.4 (1998): 410-19.
Week 5 (Sept. 21, 23, 25)
Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Topics
- Sex versus gender
- Development of gender identity
- Gender diversity across time and space
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 10
Nanda, Serena. Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India. Second ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1999.
Week 6 (Sept. 28, 30, Oct. 2)
Sexual Orientation
Exam 1, Oct. 2
Topics
- Categorizing sexual orientation
- Nature and nurture
- Homophobia and heterosexism
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 11
Sanders, “A Down Low Dirty Shame: The New Assault on Black Male Sexuality,” Bitch 28.Spring (2005): 33-35, 91.
Week 7 (Oct. 5, 7, 9)
Sexuality over the Life Course
Reaction paper 2 due Oct. 9
Topics
- Sexual development throughout life
- Childhood and adolescent sexuality
- Aging and sexuality
Required reading
Hock, Chapters 12
Delamater, John, and Amelia Karraker. “Sexual Functioning in Older Adults.” Current Psychiatry Reports 11.1 (2009): 6-11.
Week 8 (Oct. 12, 14)
Sexual Arousal, Problems, and Solutions
No class Oct. 16, Homecoming
Topics
- Physiology of sexual arousal
- Medicalization of human sexuality
Required reading
Hock, Chapters 3, 7
Tiefer, Leonore. “Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Case Study of Disease Mongering and Activist Resistance,” PLoS Medicine 3.4 (2006): e178.
Week 9 (Oct. 19, 21, 23)
Experiencing Sexual Pleasure
First submission of research paper due on Oct. 19
Topics
- What is sex?
- Solitary sex and sex with others
- Paraphilias and “extremes” of sexual behavior
Required reading
Hock, Chapters 6, 14
Christina, Greta. “Are We Having Sex Now Or What?” The Erotic Impulse. Ed. David Steinberg. New York: Jeffrey P. Tarcher/Penguin, 1992. 24-29.
Week 10 (Oct. 26, 28, 30)
Love, Intimacy, and Marriage
Peer review due in section
Topics
- What is love?
- Mate preference in evolutionary and cross-cultural perspective
- Diversity in marriage across time and space
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 4
Gourevitch, Philip. “A Husband for Dil.” The New Yorker 75.1 (1999): 78-88.
Week 11 (Nov. 2, 4, 6)
Pregnancy and Birth
Exam 2, Nov. 6
Topics
- Fertility in individuals and populations
- Pregnancy, birth, and abortion in cross-cultural perspective
- Maternal, infant, and child health
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 9
Shorto, Russell. “No Babies?” New York Times Magazine 2008, sec MM: 34.
David, Richard J., and James W. Collins, Jr. “Bad Outcomes in Black Babies: Race Or Racism?,” Ethnicity and Disease 1.3 (1991): 236-44.
Week 12 (Nov. 9, 13)
Contraception and Culture
No class Nov. 11, Veterans Day
Topics
- Politics of contraception
- Sexuality education and culture
- Methods of preventing pregnancy and STIs
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 5
Rose, “Going Too Far? Sex, Sin and Social Policy,” Social Forces 84.2 (2005): 1207-32.
Shorto, Russell. “Contra-Contraception.” New York Times Magazine May 7 2006, 48-55, 68, 83.
Week 13 (Nov. 16, 18, 20)
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Final, revised research paper due Nov. 20
Topics
- Bacterial and viral infections
- STIs on campus
- HPV and the “cervical cancer vaccine”
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 8
Week 14 (Nov. 24, 26)
HIV/AIDS and Global Health
No class Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, Thanksgiving
Topics
- Social inequalities and health
- Globalization, power, and sex
Required reading
Parker, Richard. “The Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic, Structural Inequalities, and the Politics of International Health,” American Journal of Public Health 92.3 (2002): 343-47.
Week 15 (Nov. 30, Dec. 2, 4)
Power, Coercion, and Sexual Violence
Topics
- Rape and sexual violence in evolutionary and cross-cultural perspective
- Sexual violence on campus
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 13
Ryan, Kathryn, and Jeanne Kanjorski. “The Enjoyment of Sexist Humor, Rape Attitudes, and Relationship Aggression in College Students.” Sex Roles 38.9/10 (1998): 743-56.
Week 16 (Dec. 7, 9)
Selling Sex
No class Dec. 11
Topics
- Sexuality in the media and the arts
- Pornography
- Prostitution and sex work
Required reading
Hock, Chapter 15
Farmer, Paul. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2003.