7:00-9:00P     M     BH141

Topic: History of Sexuality in the U.S.
A portion of the above section reserved for majors

This colloquium will address selected topics in the history of
sexuality.  It will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on the
United States and on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Readings
and discussions will emphasize public contests over sexuality.  How,
when, and why did sexuality become a source of public identity, and
object on scientific study, a commodity in the consumer economy, a
cultural battleground, and a key political issue?  How have the
shifting constructions of sexuality informed and transformed
hierarchies of gender, race, class, and nation?

Readings will include Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Vol.
1 An Introduction; Patricia Cline Cohen, The Murder of Helen Jewett;
Carol Groneman, Nymphomania; George Chauncey, Gay New York; Joshua
Gamson, Freaks Talk Back; and more.