This course uses interdisciplinary, thematic, and case study approaches to explore sexuality in the modern world. It takes as its starting point the understanding that sex and power are interrelated and that they manifest differently in different social and cultural contexts (including spaces and places to which WPI students may travel as part of their global projects experience). Further, this course recognizes that the categorization, experiences, and treatment of queer persons and bodies and non-normative sexuality have changed over time and space, as have sexual mores and conceptualizations of “purity” and “deviance,” which are linked to class, race, dis/ability, and power relations within and between states. This course may include the study of the history of sexuality in the United States and globally; national and international activism around sexual liberation and LGBTQ+ pride; religion and sexuality; the relationship of LGBTQ+ activism to other civil rights movements; sex work; sexual violence; cultural representations of queer and non-normative sexualities, and “anti-genderism” and authoritarian populism. The expected enrollment is 20, and the course type is Lecture/Discussion. This course may be repeated for different topics.
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