HST 260 History of Sexuality in America
A historical approach to sexuality and gender relations in America, including the role of sex in Colonial conquest; Native American sexuality; sexual ethics in Puritan America; the relationship between sex, race, and slavery; utopian experiments in sexual and marital relations; the sexual double standard and Temperance movement; sexuality liberation, gay rights and feminism in the 1960’s; the social effects of sexually transmitted diseases; and modern developments in sexuality. Key themes in the course will include the relationship between medical knowledge and sexual ethics; the evolution of social perceptions and communal regulation of normal and aberrant sexual behavior; and changing degrees of freedom and constraint in accepted sexual practice and gender roles. Prerequisites: WR 121, MTH 20 or placement above this level.