Honors Seminar: “Obscenity and Censorship in American Popular Culture” 

Drs. Rabe and Pillen

 

This seminar is an exploration of the complex and sometimes contentious relationship between freedom of expression and censorship of allegedly obscene materials American arts and popular culture from the late 19^th century to the present day.  It examines issues like the boundaries between art and obscenity/pornography, evolving definitions of the obscene, shifting legal frameworks for limiting or protecting speech, and the politics surrounding public expression.  Arranged chronologically, the course seeks to historicize the study of obscenity and censorship and provide ample opportunity for discussion of related issues in the present day.

CL 471: Ancient Sexuality

Dr. E.Del Chrol

Taught in English, Ancient Sexuality delves into the major ways that appropriate and inappropriate sexual activity were constructed in the cultures of Greece and Rome and diagnose how those ways inflect and are inflected by historical, cultural, geographic, economic and social factors.  We will look at comedies, tragedies, histories, biographies, graffiti, painting and sculpture.

ENG 344: Sexuality in Cinema

Dr. Walter Squire

In this class, we will study the history of sexuality in cinema and examine presentations of various sexualities within Hollywood, avant-garde, independent, and English-language foreign films.  Representative movies will include Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Go Fish, But I’m a Cheerleader, and Brokeback Mountain.

HST 408: History of LGBT Peoples in America

Dr. Greta Rensenbrink

A survey of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history in the United States from the colonial period to the present.

PSC 280: Introduction to Sexuality Studies

Dr. Shawn Schulenberg

This course will use an intersectional lens to provide a foundational background for the study of sexualities across time and space. Course content will be interdisciplinary, drawing from the humanities as well as the social and natural sciences.