SOCIOLOGY 380-003

SEXUALITY AND SOCIETY

SUMMER 2007

Professor: Dr. Diane Sicotte (email address: Diane.Sicotte@Drexel.edu)

Homepage: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~dms76/

NOTE: USE THIS EMAIL AND HOMEPAGE, NOT WEBCT.

Time and Location of Class: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 – 10:50 a.m., Matheson Hall, Room 410

Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 2:00 – 3:00 or by appointment.

Office Location: Bldg. 47 (Neuropsychology, AKA Bldg. 47, on SE corner of 33^rd & Powelton), Room 221

Required Texts:

Sex Matters, edited by Stombler, Baunach, Burgess, Donnelly and Simonds, 2007, Allyn & Bacon, ISBN #9780205485444

See Class Schedule for reading list.

Course Objectives:

An understanding of:

· Sociological perspectives on how sexualities are socially produced and re-produced.

· How sexuality is learned, and how it affects one’s life.

· Gender and race issues in sexuality.

· The social meanings of variant sexualities and sexual orientation.

· Sociological processes including the social control of sexuality, and the commodification of sex.

Course Requirements:

• Regular attendance and active participation in class discussion (10% of your final grade).

(1) Attendance: Attendance for the entire course is worth a total of 10 points. FIVE POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED for more than 2 unexcused absences. ONE POINT WILL BE DEDUCTED FOR EVERY UNEXCUSED ABSENCE OVER 4.

• Regular Quizzes (60% of your final grade). There will be 5 quizzes, but only 4 of them will count toward your grade. Each quiz will be worth 15 points, and you can drop the quiz with the lowest grade (OR, you can miss 1 quiz without it affecting your grade). NO MAKEUP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN.

• Two short reaction papers (30% of your final grade). The purpose of these papers is to get you to think about what you have read in the course reserve readings, evaluate the evidence that writers use to back up their arguments, and relate the material to your own experiences. Written instructions will be provided. Each paper will be worth a maximum of 15 points (a total of 30 points for both papers). Hard-copy papers must be turned in in class on the day due OR delivered to my campus mailbox no later than 5 p.m. of the day they are due. No emailed or late papers will be accepted.

• There will be no final exam for this course.

Policies:

• Conduct: In this class, we will be discussing sensitive topics. During all classroom discussions, I will expect you to speak with the utmost respect for others. If anyone should behave in a disrespectful manner toward me or anyone in the class, or if anyone disrupts the class, they will be asked to leave.

• RESPECT FOR OTHERS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN A CLASS SUCH AS THIS ONE. WE WILL BE HOSTING GUEST SPEAKERS WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT NON-MAINSTREAM SEXUAL PRACTICES AND LIFESTYLES. THE PURPOSE IS TO INCREASE OUR SOCIOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF SEXUALITIES. CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS SHOULD BE SPIRITED AND PASSIONATE. HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD ALWAYS BE CHARACTERIZED BY THE FOLLOWING:

1. PRIVACY: In the classroom setting, do not ask questions of anyone else about their sexual orientation, practices or behavior (unless specifically invited to do so by a guest speaker). It’s OK to keep the details of your own sexual life private. Reveal only things you are absolutely certain you are comfortable revealing in a classroom setting.

2. AWARENESS AND TOLERANCE: Always assume that there are people present whose beliefs, sexual orientation, and sexual practices and behaviors are different from your own. Never make disparaging or disrespectful remarks about sexualities that are different from your own.

3. SENSITIVITY: Always speak respectfully, with thought about how what you say might affect the other person’s emotional well-being.

• Disabilities: Please see me ASAP if you have any disability for which you need accommodation, including learning disabilities. Learning disabilities must be documented to receive accommodation.

• Electronic Devices in the Classroom:

(1) Cell phones/Pagers/Instant Messaging: Leave your cell phone or pager at home or be sure that the ringer is turned to the “vibrate” or “off” setting before you sit down in class. Never take or make phone calls in class (includes IM’ing or answering an IM).

(2) Laptop Computers: No laptop use is allowed during class.

• Email Policy: Please feel free to email me to schedule a meeting with me so we can go over anything you don’t understand. Please don’t email me with questions about upcoming quizzes (it’s much fairer for me to address these questions in class so that everyone can benefit).

• Extra Credit: No extra credit assignments will be given. If you fulfilled all course requirements outlined here, your grade will probably be what you aimed for.

• Make-Up Quizzes: You will be able to miss one quiz without penalty, so make-up quizzes will not be allowed.

• Plagarism: It is assumed that the work you submit for this course is your own. Any attempt to present someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism, which is a form of academic dishonesty. Plagarism includes copying another student’s work on papers or tests, copying without attribution the ideas or words from published sources (including the Internet), and submitting papers written in previous terms. For further information, see the Drexel Student Handbook; look for the University’s Policy on academic honesty under Judicial Affairs.

Course Schedule:

Assigned Readings from “Sex Matters” Lecture/Discussion Topic

WEEK 1: JUNE 26 – JUNE 28

Ch. 1, Rd. 1: Are We Having Sex Now or What? Sexual Practices in

Ch. 3, Rd. 18: How the Internet Is Shaping Sex the U.S.

Ch. 6, Rd. 30: Now for the Truth About Americans and Sex

WEEK 2: JULY 3 – JULY 5

Ch. 2, Rd. 10: Sexuality & Social Theorizing Sexual Variations: Non-

Ch. 2, Rd. 12: The Reluctant Polyamorist Monogamy and BDSM

Ch. 6, Rd. 31: Against Love

Ch. 6, Rd. 38: Kink Without Borders

TUESDAY, JULY 3 – QUIZ #1 (Covering readings from weeks 1 & 2).

THURSDAY, JULY 5 - GUEST SPEAKER: JEREMY PEIRCE ON POLYAMORY

WEEK 3: JULY 10 – JULY 12

Ch. 2, Rd. 7: Alfred Kinsey and the Kinsey Report Sexuality Research

Ch. 2, Rd. 8: Survey of Sexual Behavior of Americans

Ch. 2, Rd. 9: Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskeegee

Syphilis Study

Ch. 2, Rd. 11: (How) Does Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?

THURSDAY, JULY 12 – REACTION PAPER #1 DUE TODAY.

WEEK 4: JULY 17 – JULY 19

Ch. 1, Rd. 2: Who Will Make Room for the Intersexed Gender and Sexuality

Ch. 1, Rd. 3: Sex and the Trans Man

Ch. 5, Rd. 26: Fixing the Broken Male

Ch. 5, Rd. 29: The G-Spot and Other Mysteries

Ch. 9, Rd. 50: Slut! Insult of Insults

TUESDAY, JULY 17– GUEST SPEAKER: CASEY ON THE TRANSSEXUAL EXPERIENCE

THURSDAY, JULY 19 – QUIZ #2 (Covering readings from weeks 3 & 4).

WEEK 5: JULY 24 – JULY 26

Ch. 1, Rd. 4: Straight Dude Seeks Same Same-Sex Sexualities

Ch. 1, Rd. 5: Why Are We Gay?

Ch. 1, Rd. 6: Identity and Community: the Social Construction

of Bisexuality in Women

Ch. 6, Rd. 37: A Low-Down Dirty Shame

Ch. 9, Rd. 51: In the Closet

THURSDAY, JULY 26 – GUEST SPEAKERS: FUSE ON SAME-SEX SEXUALITIES

WEEK 6: AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 2

Ch. 3, Rd. 16: Little White Lies: Race, Dildos and American Race & Ethnicity and

Culture Sexuality

Ch. 6, Rd. 34: Tainted Love? Exploring the Contours of

Interracial Romance and Resistance to Interracial Intimacy

Ch. 6, Rd. 35: Influences of Culture on Asian Americans’

Sexuality

Ch. 9, Rd. 49: The Sexual Politics of Black

Womanhood

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 – QUIZ #3 (Covering readings for weeks 5 & 6).

WEEK 7: AUGUST 7 – AUGUST 9

Ch. 7, Rd. 42: Current Reproductive Technologies Sexual & Reproductive

Ch. 8, Rd. 43: Tracking the Hidden Epidemics Health

Ch. 8, Rd. 45: Damaged Goods: Stigma Management in Women

with STDs

Ch. 8, Rd. 47: The Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic

WEEK 8: AUGUST 14 – AUGUST 16

Ch. 10, Rd. 54: “I Wasn’t Raped, But…” Sexual Violence

Ch. 10, Rd. 56: The Knockout Punch of Date Rape Drugs

Ch. 10, Rd. 50: Raped: A Male Survivor Breaks His Silence

Ch. 10, Rd. 61: Human Rights, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14 – QUIZ #4 (Covering readings for weeks 7 & 8).

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16: NO CLASS TODAY (INSTRUCTOR OUT OF TOWN)

WEEK 9: AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 23

Ch. 4, Rd. 23: Going Too Far? Sex, Sin and Social Policy Social Control of Sexuality

Ch. 7, Rd. 40: Punishing Drug Addicts Who Have Babies

Ch. 8, Rd. 44: Venereal Disease: Sin vs. Science

Ch. 9, Rd. 48: The Social Control of Adult-Child Sex

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23: REACTION PAPER #2 DUE TODAY.

WEEK 10: AUGUST 28 – AUGUST 30

Ch. 11, Rd. 59: Naked Capitalists Commodification of Sex

Ch. 11, Rd. 60: Sex and Tourism

Ch. 11, Rd. 62: Naked Profits

THURSDAY, AUGUST 30 – QUIZ #5 (Covering readings for weeks 9 & 10).