SYLLABUS – SPRING 2005

SOCIOLOGY OF SEXUALITY (SYG 4060)

Class Number: 18194; Section: U01

January 11-April 28, University Park Campus

Tuesdays and Thursday 2-3:15

PROFESSOR: Dr. Abraham D. Lavender, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Office: University Park Campus, Building DM, Room 322B. The best contact is abelavender@aol.com. More contact information will be given during the first class.

COURSE OUTLINE: There are four parts to the course: (1) Introduction, definitions, sexuality and sexism, class surveys. (2) Comparative cultural and historical review of sexuality including the Ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian/European, Islamic/Arabic, Indian, Chinese, African, and Native America cultures. (3) Specific topics (e.g., premarital, martial, and extramarital; sexual orientations; swinging, prostitution, positions, anatomy, etc. (4) Societal attitudes and influences on sexual functioning and dysfunctioning. Part 1 is brief, Part 2 will go to the first test, Part 3 covers most of the remainder, and Part 4 is relatively brief.

BOOKS (three; all required):

(1) THE TAO OF LOVE AND SEX, by Jolan Chang. This book discusses the sexual attitudes and behavior from an Eastern perspective. Read this book in its entirety during the first half of the course, to be tested on the first test.

(2) SOLVING AMERICA’S SEXUAL CRISIS, by Ira Reiss and Harriet M. Reiss. This book discusses the general attitude toward sexuality in our culture, as well as special topics. About half of this book will be assigned for the first test, and the remainder will be assigned for the second test.

(3) THE MORNING AFTER: SEX, FEAR, AND FEMINISM, by Katie Roiphe. This book discusses how U.S. attitudes on some sexual topics have changed over the past several decades. Read this book in its entirety during the second half of the course, to be tested on the second test.

GRADING: This is scheduled to be a large class, probably about 120. There will be two tests, one near the middle of the semester and one at the end of the semester. Because of the large class size, each test will consist of between 33 and 50 questions, mostly multiple choice with some true-false. Each test will be about half each from class lecture/discussion and readings.

GOAL: To understand why different cultures have different attitudes and practices regarding sexuality; how demographic groups (e.g., religious, gender, age) differ on sexual issues; why we have our own views on sexuality; and how our views affect our sexuality.