Women and Gender Studies 70:
History and Theory of Sexualities: An Introduction

Winter 2001                                                                                        Instructor: Katherine Sugg
University of California, Davis                                                              Office: 2222B, Hart Hall
Class meets:                                                                                        Office phone: 752-8986
     T, Th  2:10-4pm                                                                             Office Hours:  T 4:15-4:45pm
     216 Wellman                                                                                                             Th 1-2pm
Class Mailing List: sex70-w01@ucdavis.edu                                         email:  ksugg@ucdavis.edu
 
 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

       Required Reading Materials:

Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America by John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman. University of Chicago, 2nd edition, 1997. ISBN: 0226142647
Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender by Riki Anne Wilchins. Firebrand Press, 1997. ISBN: 1563410907
Course Reader, “History and Theory of Sexualities,” available at Navin’s Copy Shop after Jan 10
 

Important Dates:

February 8.  Mid-Term Exam

March 1.  Critical Paper or Project  Due in Class

March 13. Final Take-Home Exam handed out in class

March 19. Final Due in Prof. Sugg's office or mailbox by 2pm.


GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS
 

Attendance and Participation (15%): Because of the fast-pace of this historical and theoretical overview, students will need to prepare carefully for each class by doing all the reading and, if at all possible, participating in the online discussions. Information about the website and discussion protocols will be outlined in the first weeks of class. Each student is allowed 2 absences, and all subsequent absences will count against the participation portion of their grade. This means that illness and other emergencies count as part of the allowed absences and I will not consider any other excuses or justifications.

Teaching Panel (15%): Every student will participate in one of the 10 scheduled team teaching panels as either a presenter or a respondent.  These panels are designed to offer an opportunity for independent and collaborative work on the readings and the topics discussed in class. 3 students will be responsible for a 15-20 minute presentation on the given topic, using the course readings and other materials, and 3 other students will respond to that presentation by raising questions and expanding on the topic from their own reading of class material and, if they choose, other outside material.  We will discuss the format and options offered by this assignment in detail in class.

Mid-Term Exam (20%): An in-class exam that will ask students factual questions and require them to summarize and comment on some of the important historical events and theoretical issues covered in the first half of the course. February 8.

Critical Paper or Project (25%): This critical essay can be based on class readings, film, video, T.V., and web or other sources.  If students prefer to expand their investigations of class material, they may  choose to do a “project” that brings in new material from outside the class, while others may prefer to engage in a critical and substantive way with the topics and readings from the class meetings. I will be available to discuss these papers in depth and encourage creative and innovative approaches, which may include web presentations, video work, or alternative paper formats.  March 1.

Take-Home Final (25%): The final will consist of a series of essay questions that ask students to both summarize course material and engage with it critically and clearly in short essays of several paragraphs. These questions will cover the course as a whole but with a focus on material discussed after the mid-term exam. I will hand out the final on March 13; exam due March 19.