Soc 491:04/Fall 2003/M 4:10-6:50/LSH A256
Arlene Stein
Office hours: M10-11:30am LSH A345
SOCIOLOGY OF SEXUALITY AND GENDER
This course examines how sexuality is "constructed" in society. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between gender, sexuality and power. In the first part, we will get our bearings, focusing upon theories and methods in sexuality studies. We will survey the sociology of sexuality from its beginnings in quantitative research, through social constructionism, post-structuralism, and queer theory. The second part of the course will examine several streams in contemporary sociological work in sexuality: discourses and narratives, practices and behaviors, identities and communities, and the political economy of sexuality. Finally, we will focus on different debates that are currently raging: moral panics over child sexuality, the challenge of transgendered bodies, and the future of sexual citizenship in an era of globalization.
The course will consist of lectures and discussions, and will include two guest speakers. Student participation will be key. Students will be responsible for helping to lead two class discussions. Each student will be asked to circulate discussion questions in advance of one or two class meetings (depending on enrollment) during the semester and help lead the discussion for that week. These questions must be emailed to all participants in the seminar by 5:00 pm on the day before class. Students will sign up for specific weeks the first meeting of the seminar.
Students taking the course for credit are expected to submit a paper (20-25 pages approx.) by December 14. You must get my approval of your proposed topic by submitting a short written description no later than October 13, which I am happy to be consulted on. Students will present their research in progress in class on November 10. During the final class, they will present a final discussion of their paper.
BOOKS
M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1 (Vintage 1979)
J. Ericksen, Kiss and Tell: Surveying Sex in the Twentieth Century (Harvard 1999).
J. Levine, Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex (Minn. 2002).
J. Puri, Woman, Body, Desire in Post-Colonial India (Routledge 1999).
R. Corber and S. Vallochi, Queer Studies: An Interdisciplinary Reader (Blackwell 2003). [Articles marked Q/S can be found in this book.]
C. Williams and A. Stein, Sexuality and Gender (Blackwell 2002)
[Articles marked W/S can be found in this book.]
PART I: THEORIES, METHODS AND OTHER THINGS
What is “sexuality” and how has it been studied?
September 8. INTRODUCTION
A. Stein, “Three Models of Sexuality,” Sociological Theory, Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 1989.
September 15. SURVEYING SEX
J. Ericksen, Kiss and Tell
*** Julia Ericksen, Temple University, guest
Sept. 22 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
K. Plummer, “Symbolic Interaction and Sexual Conduct “(W/S)
G. Rubin, “The Traffic in Women” from R. Rapp, Toward an Anthropology of Women (1975).
C. Vance, “Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality,” from D. Altman, et al, Homosexuality, Which Homosexuality? (GMP 1989).
W. Simon and J. Gagnon and, “A Sexual Scripts Approach,” in J. Geer and W. O’Donaghue, Theories of Human Sexuality (Plenum 1987).
Sept. 29. THE FOUCAULTIAN CHALLENGE
M. Foucault, History of Sexuality, Vol 1
S. Epstein “An Incitement to Discourse: Sociology and The History of Sexuality.” Sociological Forum (Vol. 18, No. 3, September 2003).
Oct. 6 - No class -- Please work on your paper proposals!
Oct. 13. QUEER THEORY
R. Corber and S. Vallochi, Introduction, Queer Studies (Q/S)
M. Warner and L. Berlant, “Sex in Public” in Q/S.
J. Butler, “Performative Subversions,” from S. Jackson and S. Scott, Gender (Routledge 2002).
J. Halberstam, “The Brandon Teena Archive,” in Q/S
Stein and K. Plummer, “I Can’t Think Straight: Queer Theory and the Missing Sexual Revolution in Sociology” in Sociological Theory (12:2 July 1994).
*** Sabine Hark, Univ. of Pottsdam, guest
*** Preliminary Research Proposals Due
Part II: STREAMS IN CONTEMPORARY SEXUALITY RESEARCH
A look at some recent sociological and interdisciplinary research.
Oct. 20. SEXUAL DISCOURSES AND NARRATIVES
G. Rubin, “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, ed. H. Abelove, M. Barale and D. Halperin (Routledge 1993).
Jyoti Puri, Woman, Body, Desire in Post-Colonial India, Ch. 2, 3.
K. Plummer, “An Invitation to a Sociology of Stories,” pp. 18-31 in Telling Sexual Stories (Routledge 1995).
J. Nagel, “Masculinity and Nationalism: Gender and Sexuality in the Making of Nations,” Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2, March 1998.
Oct. 27. SEXUAL PRACTICES AND BEHAVIORS
B. Thorne and Luria, “Sexuality and Gender in Children’s Daily Worlds” (W/S)
R. Lancaster, "Subject Honor and Object Shame" (W/S)
R. Michael, J. Gagnon et al, “Sex and Society” (W/S)
R. W. Connell, “A Very Straight Gay,” American Sociological Review 1992, Vol. 57, 735-751.
Nov. 3. SEXUAL IDENTITIES AND MOVEMENTS
J. Puri, Woman, Body, Desire, Ch. 7.
A. Stein, “Sisters and Queers: The Decentering of Lesbian Feminism,” in R. Lancaster and M. di Leonardo, The Gender/Sexuality Reader (Routledge 1997).
C.Cohen, “Contested Membership: Black Gay Identities and the Politics of AIDS” in Q/S.
C. Chase, “Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism,” in Q/S.
A. Giddens, “Intimacy Transformed? A Critical Look at the ‘Pure Relationship,’” (W/S)
Nov. 10. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SEXUALITIES
J. Davidson and J. Taylor, “Fantasy Islands: Exploring the Demand for Sex Tourism,” (W/S)
W. Chapkis, “The Meaning of Sex” (W/S)
John D’Emilio, “Capitalism and Gay Identity”in R. Lancaster and M. diLeonardo, The Gender/Sexuality Reader (Routledge 1997).
L. Cantu, “A Place Called Home: A Queer Political Economy” (W/S)
M. Jacqui Alexander, “Erotic Autonomy as a Politics of Decolonization,” in M.J. Alexander and C. Mohanty, Feminist Geneologies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures (Routledge 1997).
***Student Presentations: Research-in-Progress
Part III: SOME CURRENT DEBATES
Nov. 17. CHILD SEXUALITY, MORAL PANICS AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PERMISSIBLE
J. Levine, Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex (Minnesota 2002).
J. Stacey "(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?" with
Timothy Biblarz, American Sociological Review, 2001, Vol. 66 (April: 159-183).
Recommended film: “Capturing the Friedmans”
Nov. 24. TRANSGENDERED BODIES: MORE THAN TWO SEXES?
J. Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Ch. 3 and 4. (Harvard 2002).
S. Kessler, “The Medical Construction of Gender: Case Management of Intersexed Infants,” in A. Herrmann, A. Stewart, eds. Theorizing Feminism (Westview, 1994).
A.Fausto-Sterling, “The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are Not Enough” (W/S)
J. Butler, “The End of Sexual Difference,” in Feminist Consequences, ed. E. Bronfen and M. Kavka (Columbia 1991).
Dec. 1. GLOBALIZATION AND SEXUAL CITIZENSHIP
E. Povinelli and G. Chauncey. 1999. “Thinking Sexuality Transnationally.”
GLQ 5, no. 4: 439-450 (available online).
D. Altman, “Rupture or Continuity: The Internationalization of Gay Identities,” Social Text 48, Vol. 14, No. 3 1996.
J. Puar, “Circuits of Queer Mobility,” Vol. 8, GLQ 2002, Vol. 8 Issue 1/2
T. Boellstorff, “The Perfect Path: Gay Men, Marriage, Indonesia,” Q/S.
K. Plummer, “The Square of Intimate Citizenship,” Citizenship Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2001.
*** December 5 -- Gayle Rubin lecture at Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY (optional, recommended)
Dec 8. RESEARCH PRESENTATION EXTRAVAGANZA- be prepared to stay late!!
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