ANT3041 Spec Topics: Sexuality Across Cultures

This course will take a comparative approach to the study of contemporary sexuality, exploring the cultural variations in sexual expressions, social norms and conformity, practices and policies. We will draw from anthropology and other social science disciplines, giving students a chance to observe how different fields approach a complex, cultural topic. The themes covered include sexuality education, religious and ethnic factors affecting sexuality, sexual behavior and patterns related to children and adolsecents, “unconventional” sexual behavior, and sexual health and dysfunction. The course will operate in seminar format, requiring a significant amount of reading and informed, active discussion. Early in the semester, students will choose two cultures (in addition to their own) and, through guided independent research, they will gradually build an understanding of the similarities and differences among these three cultures as the semester proceeds. For the culmination of the course, students will create a paper and presentation comparing sexuality across these three cultures. Students must have completed three courses at the 2000 level, one of which must be in a Social Science discipline, with grades of C or higher, as prerequisites for this course. Credits: 3.000

WRT 1012 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00