Course Info: HACU-0173
| Course | HACU-0173 Sex & Science |
| Long Title | Sex, Science, and the Victorian Body |
| Term | 2020S |
| Note(s) |
Satisfies Distribution Textbook information |
| Meeting Info | Franklin Patterson Hall 108 on T,TH from 1:00-2:20 |
| Faculty | Lise SandersüPamela Stone |
| Capacity | 40 |
| Available | 25 |
| Waitlist | 0 |
| Distribution(s) |
Culture, Humanities, and Languages Mind, Brain, and Information |
| Cumulative Skill(s) | Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research |
| Additional Info | In this course, students can expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time. |
| Description | How did Victorians conceive of the body? In a culture associated in the popular imagination with modesty and propriety, even prudishness, discussions of sexuality and physicality flourished. This course explored both fictional and non-fictional texts from nineteenth-century Britain in conjunction with modern critical perspectives. We discussed debates over corsetry and tight-lacing, dress reform, prostitution and the Contagious Diseases Acts, sexology, hysteria, and other topics relating to science and the body, alongside novels, poetry, and prose by major Victorian writers. The writings of Freud, Foucault, and other theorists, as well as writings in the natural and biological sciences, assisted us in contextualizing nineteenth-century discourses of gender, sexuality, and embodiment. All course participants were expected to attend class on a regular basis, to complete all readings and written assignments by the date listed, and to participate actively in discussion. Three formal essays were required: a 3-5 page close reading, a 3-5 page critical response paper, and a final research paper. |