What is sexuality? When was it "invented" and how have its cultural constructions and meanings varied over time and place? In the West, for example, pre-modern understandings of human sexuality were radically reconfigured in the 19th century, being organized around the concept of "homosexual" and "heterosexual" - symbiotic and mutually exclusive definitions we continue to struggle with to this day. The course examines ways that such struggles - homo / hetero, natural / unnatural, normal /deviant, bio-function / pleasure - are articulated in thought and art, among other things, in order to imagine the possibility of sexuality beyond binary oppositions. Links between sexuality and identity, criminality, and violence are also explored. The course is organized around three themes, and each theme comprises a separate unit of the course: the medicalization of sexuality, camp, and pornography. Some of the material we will examine in the course is sexually explicit in nature and may prove uncomfortable for students unwilling to question assumptions about sexuality and its relation to various forms of cultural, expression. Nevertheless, engaging such material and discussing our assumptions are essential components of the course. Students uncomfortable with sexually explicit material or discussions that challenge religious or political views, for example, should register for a different course.

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