Human Sexuality Syllabus: My Attempt at College Teaching 2.0

Dudes, I have been busting my ass on making a super duper amazing (if I do say so myself) syllabus for the Human Sexuality lecture course I teach at Rutgers in Newark. This is the third semester I’m teaching the class, and I think this time around I’m really coming into my own.

Last summer, I co-taught the class with my amazing friend Ellen Friedricks. I spent that semester struggling with teaching in the biological sciences department with my humanities background, plus stressing about how the fuck I was going to act like a professor. I mean, really. In the fall I taught the class on my lonesome, and I definitely had moments of brilliance but also faltered badly (like when I didn’t know enough about HIV and one of my students was the offspring of an HIV epidemiologist and I looked like an idiot. le sigh). Again, I struggled with the tone of teaching and the concept of me as a professor, plus personally I was having a really rough time so some days it was just really really hard to stand up there and pretend I was in charge. Also, as I moved into the last part of the semester, I began to wonder: why the hell am I using a text book? I resolved to toss the text and come up with a serious reading list. And now I’ve done that. I’m starting the summer session this evening with a new and bad ass approach to the course.

When I started working on the syllabus, I made a list of goals for it. Here they are:

•Green – minimal pieces of paper, students print out materials only if they decide they need to, occasionally I’ll distro handouts
•Accessible and open – no textbook, materials are free, most are available online and students are welcome/encouraged to share
•Minimal academic bullshit, maximum thought-inspiration
•Resources for future exploration
•Sexuality education and info you can use, plus in depth public health and sexuality research work

Here’s the thing: I wouldn’t be teaching this class the way I’m teaching it without the people I know both online and off. You (here I’m gesticulating broadly) have educated me in a bazillion ways, and I’m a better scholar and activist for it.

First, a snippet from the beginning of the syllabus:

Course Objectives: To examine sexuality through the lenses of biology and culture. To encourage students to think critically about sexuality and gender and to question their own assumptions.

Ground Rules: Class members are free to express their personal opinions (especially in response papers) and reactions. However, hateful speech or expression of disgust will not be tolerated. Among other things, this means: don’t say “ew” when we’re discussing something not to your liking.

So, check this fucker out. I’m proud of this collections of readings, videos, web comics, etc. Hopefully I can do it justice over the next six weeks as I try to teach a lecture format class in an interesting way.

The class, of course, has its own blog. I’ll be putting up the powerpoint lecture notes on Tuesday and Thursday nights after class. I’m also going to attempt to audio record the lectures and turn it into a podcast, but I’m not promising anything – and that might not be so immediate. I intend to post some of my favorite slides here and on Flickr, but we’ll see how that pans out, because… uh… workload like whoa.

Download a PDF of the unabridged syllabus, including videos and links to material, HERE.

5/26 – I’d Hit That: A Short History of Sex and An Introduction to Studying Sexuality

Videos

• “Sex Research, the Video.” Slate Video, 2008. Mary Roach, author of the new book Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, relates how she and her husband became the first couple to be filmed on 4-D ultrasound while having sex. 3 min 21 seconds.
• “Naked on the Inside.” Directed by Kim Farrant. Magic Real Picture Company, 2008. This fresh and unnerving feature-length documentary asks a simple, but audacious, question: Beyond our clothes and skin, who are we? Six extra-ordinary people from around the world reveal their bodies and share their secrets in a unique experiment in search of their inner selves. 82 mins.

Resources

• Sex In History. Reay Tannahill. Abacus: 1989.
• Sex, Etc feature on Body Image
• “Seven (Mostly) Scientific Devices for Measuring Sexual Arousal.” Annalee Newitz. Io9.com, April 16, 2009.

5/28 – The Plumbing: Anatomy and Disorders of Sexual Development

Videos

• “The Internal Clitoris.” With Betty Dodson. 2007. Sketch and narration of internal structures of the clitoris.
• “Footballers lesson in preventing erectile dysfunction.” The Sex Education Show. Channel 4 UK: Season 1, Episode 3, September 23, 2008.
• “XXXY.” Directed by Porter Gale & Laleh Soomekh. Intersex Society of North America/PlanetOut, 2000.

Readings

• Embarrassing Bodies. Channel 4 UK. 2009. see breast, vulva, and penis galleries
• “Just a Snip? A Social History of Male Circumcision.” Peter Aggleton. Reproductive Health Matters 2007;15(29):15–21. (PDF)
• “Rites and Rights” from The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World. Michelle Goldberg. Penguin Press, 2009. HANDOUT
• “Secrets of the Phallus: Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?” Jesse Bering. Scientific American, April 27, 2009.
• “How is Sex Determined?” Rick Groleau. NOVA Online, 2001. (Flash)
• “What is Intersex?” Michelle O’Brien. Organisation Internationale des Intersexués, 2009. (PDF)
• “What if It’s (Sort of) a Boy and (Sort of) a Girl?” Elizabeth Weil. New York Times Magazine: September 24, 2006. (WEB)

Personal Perspective

• “My Life as an Intersexual,” by Max Beck
• “Proof That I Like Penises.” Alice Dreger. Bioethics Forum, March 10, 2006. (WEB)

Resources

• All About My Vagina
• Anatomy: Man’s Best Friend – Male Sexual Anatomy
• Anatomy: Pink Parts – Female Sexual Anatomy
• Sex:Unknown film and website
• Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud, book by Thomas Lacquer
• Australian Affiliate of Organisation Internationale des Intersexués.

6/2 – Knocked Up: Reproduction, Contraception, Unplanned Pregnancy, Pregnancy & Birth. With guest speaker.

Readings

• “Why So Many Sperm?” Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. Radiolab/WNYC, Novermber 21, 2008. (22 minutes, audio).
• Birth Control Comparison, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
• “Testosterone Injections Work Like a Male Pill.” BMJ Group. Guardian UK, May 5, 2009.
• “The New Underground Railroad.” Debbie Nathan. New York Magazine: December 5, 2005.
• “China’s excess males, sex selective abortion, and one child policy: analysis of data from 2005 national intercensus survey.” Wei Xing Zhu, Li Lu and Therese Hesketh. BMJ 2009;338;b1211 (PDF)
• Pictures of Your Growing Body and Baby
• “Ecstatic Birth: The Hormonal Blueprint of Labor.” Sarah J. Buckley. Mothering, Issue 111, March/April 2002. (PDF)

Personal Perspectives

• “Plan B Damned: The Quest for Emergency Contraception.” Nikol Hasler. RH Reality Check, August 12, 2008.
• “DJ’s Homeless Mommy.” Dan Savage. New York Times, September 11, 2005.
• My Home Birth: A Graphic Graphic Memoir. Christen Clifford and David Heatley. Smith Magazine, May 2008.
• “My Late Term Abortion.” Gretchen Voss. Boston Globe, Janaury 24, 2005.

Resources

• How Pregnancy Happens
• Post-Abortion Counseling and Support http://www.pac-consortium.org and http://www.4exhale.org/
• The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World. Michelle Goldberg. Penguin Press, 2009.

6/4 – The Bad: HIV & Other Sexually Transmitted Infections

Readings

• The AIDS Timeline, Avert.org
• Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Assessment, Scarleteen
• “The Moral Justification for a Compulsory Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Program.” Joseph E. Balog. American Journal of Public Health, April 2009, Vol 99, No. 4 (PDF)
• “The Criminalization of HIV.” International Planned Parent¬hood Federation (IPPF), the World AIDS Campaign (WAC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and Living Positively, a project of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA). 2008. (PDF)
• “Male Circumcision as an HIV Prevention Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Lawrence O. Gostin and Catherine A. Hankins. Journal of the American Medical Association, December 3, 2008—Vol 300, No. 21. (PDF)
• “The Macro of Microbicides.” Alliance for Microbicide Development, 2008. (PDF)

Personal Perspectives

• “The Most Amazing Guy.” Kristen. Sexual Health Buzz, March 26, 2009.
• “Stories Written by HIV Positive Youth.” The Media Project.
• “To Be Young, Smart and HIV-Infected: Living a Positive Life.” Ben Cogswell. Sex Etc, Jan 20, 2006.

6/9 – The Good: Sexual Arousal, Pleasure, & Response

Video

• “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm.” Mary Roach. TED Talk, February 2009.

Readings

• “Affairs of the Lips: Why We Kiss.” Chip Walter. Scientific American, February 2008.
• “I’m So Excited and I Just Can’t Hide It” from How Sex Works: Why We Look, Smell, Taste, Feel, and Act the Way We Do. Dr. Sharon Moalem. Harper, 2009. HANDOUT
• “Neurobiology of Sexual Response in Men and Women.” By David L. Rowland, PhD. CNS Spectr. 2006;11:8(Suppl 9):6-12
• “Science of the Orgasm.” Regina Nuzzo. Los Angeles Times: February 11, 2008.
• “The Orgasmic Mind: The Neurological Roots of Sexual Pleasure.” Martin Portner. Scientific American, April 2008.
• Guide to Sex Toys

Personal Perspectives

• “The 30 Year Old Orgasm Virgin.” Maura Kelly. The Daily Beast, May 13, 2009.

6/11 – Gender, Orientation, and Identity. With guest speaker.

Readings

• “Confessions of An Identity Junkie.” Cheryl Dobinson. Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity, Vol. 4, No 3, 1999. (PDF)
• Sexual Identity and Gender Identity Glossary and Trans 101
• “FAQ on cissexual, cisgender, and cis privilege.” Julia Serrano.
• “Letter to my Mother,” a poem by Sarah Dopp (video).
• “Asexuals Unite.” Tracy Hukill. Alternet, April 24, 2006.
• “Double Lives on the Down Low.” Benoit Denizet-Lewis. New York Times Magazine, August 3, 2003.
• “A Boy’s Life.” Hanna Rosin. The Atlantic, November 2008.

Personal Perspectives

• Genderfork
• My Right Self

Resources

• Sexual Identity and Gender Identity Glossary
• Trans 101

6/16 – Relationships and Love. With guest speaker.

• Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence. (excerpt). Esther Perel. Harper, 2007. HANDOUT. and Mating in Captivity (WEB)
• “Love’s Labors.” Laura Kipnis. Excerpted from Against Love: A Polemic. Vintage Books, 2003. (WEB)
• “A conversation with Laura Kipnis” (WEB)
• “Helen Fisher on Why We Love and Cheat.” TED Talks (video), filmed February 2006, posted September 2006.

Personal Perspectives

• “Fiona and Sam” from Opening Up. Tristan Taormino. Cleis Press, 2008.

6/18 – Sexual Dysfunction and Treatment; Consent and Assault; Laws, Morals and Sexual Behavior
Videos

• “Consumer Reports Takes on Erectile Dysfunction Ads.” Consumer Reports, June 2008.
• “Overruled!” Lambda Legal, 2008.

Readings
Sexual Dysfunction and Treatment

• “The marketing of a disease: female sexual dysfunction.” Ray Moynihan. BMJ 2005;330;192-194. (PDF)
• “ABC of Sexual Health: Assessing and managing male sexual problems.” Alan Gregoire. BMJ 1999;318;315-317. (PDF)

Consent and Assault

• Antioch College Sexual Consent Policy
• “How You Guys Can Prevent Rape.” Heather Corinna. Scarleteen, 2008.
• Effects of Sexual Assault

Laws, Morals, and Sexual Behavior

• “Sex and Civil Liberties.” Tom Head. About.com.
• “Texas Mom Faces Trial for Selling Sex Toys.” CNN.com: February 11, 2004.
• “Lawrence v. Texas: States may not prohibit private homosexual activity between consenting adults.”

6/23 – Kink and Beyond: Atypical Sexual Behavior

Video

• “Kinky: Black Sexuality and Kink.” Directed by A. Benjamin. 2008.

Readings

• “Issues for DSM-V: Sexual Dysfunction, Disorder, or Variation Along Normal Distribution: Toward Rethinking DSM Criteria of Sexual Dysfunctions,” Editorial in American Journal of Psychiatry (PDF)
• “The Pleasure of Pain – Why Some People Need S&M.” Psychology Today, September/October 1999.
• Slap Happy.” Jessica Wakeman. Bitch, Issue 39. (PDF)
• “Paraphilias.” Guy E Brannon. eMedicine, February 14, 2008.

6/25 – The Sex Industry. With guest speakers.

Readings

• What is a sex worker?
• What is the sex industry?
• Sex Work, Trafficking – Understanding the Difference – by Melissa Ditmore
• “The New Face of Porn.” Alison Lee. This Magazine, November-December 2008.
• Ask a Ho: Legal Issues for Dommes – $pread Magazine
• Modern Hooker on Carnal Nation
• Beyond Vice and Victimhood (PDF)

Personal Perspectives

• “The Rumpus Oral History Project— Lorelei Lee, Porn Performer.” The Rumpus, February 19, 2009.

Resources

• $pread Magazine
• Sex Workers Outreach Project
• Sex Workers Project
• Sex Work Awareness
• Sex Work 101
• Bound, Not Gagged

6/30 – Controversial Topics: Kids, Old People, People With Disabilities, Sex Ed.

Readings
Kids and Sex

• “Child sexuality and sexual behavior.” IngBeth Larsson. Translated by Kate Lambert and Stuart Tudball. Socialstyrelsen, 2000. (PDF)
• “When kids make their own porn, who’s being exploited?” Violet Blue. SF Gate, January 29, 2009.

Old People and Sex

• “Too Sexy for Her Rocker.” Michael Castleman. Salon.
• “What Are HIV Prevention Needs of Adults Over 50?” Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. University of California San Francisco, 1997.

People With Disabilities

• “Sexuality and Disability Myths and Facts.” Corey Silverberg. About.com: Sexuality, December 15, 2006.

Sex Education

• “Sex Education in America.” NPR Feature.

7/2 – Final Exam