ILS 2180:  SEXUALITY:  SCIENCE/CULTURE/LAW
Spring 2023
Tentative Course Schedule
12:30-1:45
ACAD 425

NOTE:  This schedule may change as needed.  Your presence in class ensures correct assignments


ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY THE BEGINNING OF OUR CLASS MEETING TIME (12:30PM)



WEEK 1     WEEK 2     WEEK 3     WEEK 4     WEEK 5     WEEK 6     WEEK 7

WEEK 8     WEEK 9     WEEK 10     WEEK 11     WEEK  12     WEEK 13     WEEK 14

WEEK 15      WEEK 16




WEEK 1

T 1/10          Course Introduction; FW:  What is the value of art in a culture?  Gluck Image 
                     (1936);  Francis Bacon, Two Figures (1953); We Two Boys Clinging Together 
                      (1961), David Hockney; Gay Liberation, George Segal (1979)

                    HOMEWORK (DUE 1/12):
  •           Complete Syllabus Quiz
  •           Set Up Blog; email the Web address to your page (http://wordpress)
                   to Professor Harmon: [email protected] by class time.
                  Do first blog post: What do you see as the cultural, historical, and political 
                  value of a film like Before Stonewall? Your response should be a minimum of 
                  300 words; post to your newly created blog.


R  1/12      Important Terms; Binaries, Behavior, and Identities; 

                    HOMEWORK (DUE 1/17):
                   Read "Is There a History of Sexuality?" by David Halperin & "Since Intimate    
                   Matters" by John D'Emilio & Estelle B. Freedman (SEE WEEK 1 FOLDER)
  •          Be prepared to answer this question about your reading and be able to support
  •          your answer with specific evidence from the text:  What important lessons do 
  •          these two articles teach us about the history of sexuality?  

WEEK 2
T 1/17      Blog Post and Discussion of Halperin

                  HOMEWORK (DUE 1/19):
                  Read "Run, Mourner, Run" by Randall Kenan (see week 2 folder)
                  Do Reader Response 1:  Argue what you see as the theme of this story and why.  
                  Theme = the central idea communicated by the work. Identify the theme as a 
                   one word idea. Your response should be a minimum of 300 words.



R 1/19     Fiction Terms and Discussion of Kenan Story   

                 HOMEWORK (DUE 1/24): 
  •       Read "Queer" by Frank Bidart
  •       Do Reader Response 2:  Thematically, what do these two works have in   
               common? Why is that significant and how does this relate to the other works we
               have examined thus far (Kenan, Freedman, and Halperin)?

WEEK 3
T 1/24      Discuss Proulx and Bidart

                  HOMEWORK (DUE 1/26):
  •          Complete Reader Response 3:  In a minimum of 600 words by class time on R
                   1/27 answering the following question:   Weeks argues that "the invention of 
                  sexuality was not a single event, now lost in a distant past.  It is a continuing 
                  process in which we are simultaneously acted upon and actors, objects of 
                 change, and its subject."  What do you think he means by this and what 
                 connections might this statement have to Audre Lorde's poem?  Support your 
                 argument with evidence from both texts (Weeks and Lorde) as well as 
                 Lorde's bio.
  •        Upload completed Response to Turnitin folder



R 1/26     Discuss Weeks and Lorde 

                  HOMEWORK (DUE 1/31):
                   WARNING:  SEXUAL SITUATIONS AND SOME NUDITY​



WEEK 4
T  1/31     Discuss Undertow (Contracorriente) & Gender Performance

                  HOMEWORK (DUE 2/2):
  •         Read "Sex and the Spectacle of Music Videos:  An Examination of the Portryal 
                  of  Race and Sexuality in Music Videos" by Jacob Turner (See Week 4 folder)
  •         Watch "Get Low" by Lil John & the Eastside Boys
                 WARNING:  STRONG LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL SITUATIONS
                 Do Reader Response 4:   In a minimum of 600 words by class time on R
                 2/3 answer the following question:  What does the Lil John video communicate
                 about masculinity in American culture? You must include a minimum of one
                 quote from the Tough Guise documentary and a minimum of one quote from the
                 Turner article.  Clearly explain  your position and support your argument with
                 evidence.
                 


R 2/2      Culture and the Performance of Gender; Discuss documentary, article, and music
                 video  
                     

                   HOMEWORK (DUE 2/7):
  •          Watch Moonlight (1 hour 50 minutes) $2.99 at Amazon

 


WEEK 5
T 2/7        Discuss Moonlight and Connections to Tough Guise 2, Turner Article, and other 
                   Texts

                   HOMEWORK (DUE 2/9):
                   Heternormativity" (8 min)
  •          Watch "Striking Vipers," Black Mirror (Season 5, episode 1; 1 hour); Available
                   on Netflix
  •          Do Reader Response 5:  In what ways do these texts form a conversation about
                   heternormativity?  What is their collective central message? Support your 
                   argument with evidence/quotes from the texts.  Your response should be a min.
                    of 600 words.


R 2/9     Discuss Striking Vipers 

                   HOMEWORK (DUE 2/14):
  •          Complete Claim and Subclaims

WEEK 6
T 2/14      Claims and Subclaims Due; CONFERENCES
                     HOMEWORK (DUE 2/16):
  •           Revise Claim and Subclaims

R 2/16       Drafting Midterm Essay (or presentation); CONFERENCES

                    HOMEWORK (DUE 2/21):
  •           First Draft of Essay 1 (or presentation) due next class (essay, 4-6 pages, presentation, 8-10 minutes)
  •           Submit Essays only to Smarthinking also



WEEK 7
T 2/21          First Draft of Midterm Essay Due (or presentation); Exchange for Peer 
                       Critique; CONFERENCES

                       HOMEWORK (DUE 2/23):
                      ONLY) of partner's paper or presentation  (BOTH 
                      STEPS); Upload steps 1 and 2 of Critique to Ulearn as ONE MS WORD 
                      document 
  •              Email completed critique to partner
  •              Complete Smarthinking Report and Revision Plan (both parts) as 
                       explained in class

R 2/23        Peer Critique; CONFERENCES

                      HOMEWORK (DUE 2/28):
  •             Final Draft of Midterm Due (essay or presentation) with Reflection

WEEK 8​
T 2/28       Final Draft of Midterm Due with reflection; Watch Inside Her Sex doc (68 
                    NO REGULAR CLASS MEETING; Watch Documentary and Post 300 Word
                    Response on Blog before 11:59pm
​  
                    HOMEWORK (DUE 3/2):

                    Read "The Changing Ideal of Womanhood During the Nineteenth Century
                   Woman Movement" by Susan Cruea

R 3/2         Discuss Cruea   

                     HOMEWORK (DUE 3/14):   
  •            Do Reader Response 6:  What does Chopin's story reveal about the changing
                     ideals of womanhood at the beginning of the 19th century? Use a minimum of
                     one quote from Cruea and one quote from Chopin; min. 600 2 FULL pages;
                     Upload to Ulearn.

3/6-3/10     NO CLASS, SPRING BREAK


WEEK 9
T 3/14         Discuss "The Storm"; NO REGULAR CLASS MEETING; PARTICIPATE IN 
                     DISCUSSION BOARD BEFORE 11:59pm (Kate Chopin's "The Storm," Week 9 
                     folder)

                     HOMEWORK (DUE 3/16):
  •            Return to the discussion for "The Storm" and respond to the posts of two other
                     students before class time.

R 3/16         Discuss "The Yellow Wallpaper"

                      HOMEWORK (DUE 3/21):​
  •             Read Act I of "In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play," pp. 1-65
  •             Complete Reading Quiz in Ulearn.
  •             Do Reader Response 7: What do you see as an emerging theme in this play                    and why? Identify something that a character does or says, or an object
                      closely associated with them, that reveals something about this theme.
                      Upload to Ulearn by class time.
  •             Post Reader Response 7 to Ulearn Turnitin Assignment (Week 9 folder) &
  •             to Discussion Board in Week 10 folder (ACT 1 Discussion Board)

F 3/17         COURSE WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE

WEEK 10
T 3/21          Discuss Act I
                      HOMEWORK (DUE 3/23):​ 

                       Read Act II of In the Next Room, pp. 67-144
  •              Complete Reading Quiz in Ulearn.
  •              Complete Initial Post to Discussion Board by class time on Thursday:  What
                       is THE MOST IMPORTANT symbol in this play and why?  Support your 
                       argument with evidence/quotes from the text? Your initial post must be a 
                       minimum of 350 words and posted to the discussion board by class time on 
                       Thursday.

R 3/23                              Discuss Act II; Respond to the posts of TWO other students in the discussion 
                      for ACT II of the play (see week 10 folder); complete these responses by 9:15am

                     HOMEWORK (DUE 3/28):
                     Read "The Uses of the Erotic: the Erotic as Power" by Audre Lorde
                     Read "Love Poem" by Audre Lorde and "A Soft Indentation" by Chrystos in
                     Ulearn (WEEK 10 folder)
  •            Return to Discussion Board for Act II of play and respond to the posts of two 
                     other students. See week 10 folder for details.

WEEK 11
T  3/28        Discuss Lorde and Chrystos poems

                      HOMEWORK (DUE 3/30):
  •             Watch The Hours (2002, 1 hr. 54 min.; $2.99 @ Amazon)
  •             Do Reader Response 8: In her essay, "Poetry is Not a Luxury," Lorde argues,
                     "As we learn to bear the intimacy of scrutiny, and to flourish within it, as 
                     we learn to use theproducts of that scrutiny for power within our living, those
                     fears which rule our lives and formour silences begin to lose their control over
                     us."  How can we connect this statement to the film The Hours, the 
                     documentary Inside Her Sex, and the poems by Lorde ("Love Poem") & 
                     Chrystos ("Soft Indentation")? Your response must be a minimum of 600 
                     words and include multiple examples and a minimum of two quotes.


R 3/30         Discuss The Hours and "Poetry is Not a Luxury" and connections to other texts

                      HOMEWORK (DUE 4/4): 
  •             In Their Own Words:
                      "What Does It Mean to Be Genderqueer?"  (7 min.)
                      "Why I'm Genderqueer" (17 min.)
                      Watch ​"Non-Binary Vs. Gender Non-Conforming" (20 min.)
  •             Read "i/dentity (packed) by Aimee Herman & "A Cut Won't Kill Me" by 
                     Bo Luengsuraswat (in Ulearn WEEK 11 folder)

WEEK 12
T 4/4            Discuss Poems

                      HOMEWORK (DUE 4/6):
  •               Read "Boy with Flowers" by Ely Shipley & (in Ulearn, WEEK 12 folder)
  •               Complete Reader Response 9:  In a min. of 450 words, respond to the
                        following question:  How did the documentary Trans aid you in better
                       understanding the poem?  What do you see as some important connections? 
                       Refer to specific examples from both the documentary and poem and include
                       a min. of one quote.

R 4/6          Discuss Shipley Poem; Distribute Prompts for Final Presentation

                     HOMEWORK (DUE 4/11):
  •             Read "Cycle Undone" by Ahmisa Timoteo Bodhran (in Ulearn)
  •             Do Reader Response 10:  What do you see as the central theme of this film and
                      why? What connections do you see between the film's theme and the content
                      of Bodhran's poem? Your response must be a min. of 600 words and refer to
                      specific examples from both the film and the poem.  Include a least one quote
                      from the poem in your response.


WEEK 13
T 4/11       Discuss Boys Don't Cry

                     HOMEWORK (DUE 4/13):
  •            Claim and Sub-claims for Final Exam (presentation or Essay ) Due


R 4/13      Claim and Sub-Claims for Final Exam Due; Pair up for peer critique in class

                    HOMEWORK (DUE 4/18):
  •           First draft of final exam due (for presentation this includes a script if 
                    presentation)
  •           Submit Essays Only to Smarthinking also

WEEK 14
T 4/18       First draft of Final Exam Due; Exchange drafts with a partner for critique; 
                   CONFERENCES

                    HOMEWORK (DUE 4/20):
  •          Complete Typed Critique of Partner's Essay or Presentation and submit to 
                   Ulearn
  •          Continue to Revise Your Final Presentation or Essay


R 4/20     Share Critique in Class; CONFERENCES 

                 HOMEWORK (DUE 4/25):
                 Continue to Revise Presentation

WEEK 15
T 4/25     READING DAY ALL ACADEMIC CLASSES:  Work on Revisions     

                  HOMEWORK (DUE 5/3):

WEEK 16
T 5/2    Final Exam Due with Reflection by 3:30pm