This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class.  Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

Durham, M. Gigi (2008) The Lolita Effect, New York: The Overlook Press. (ISBN 13: 978-1-59020-215-9)

Gerson, Kathleen (2010) The Unfinished Revolution, New York: University Press. (ISBN: 978-0-19-978332-8)

Lorber, Judith & Moore, Lisa J. (2010) Gendered Bodies. New York: University Press. (ISBN: 978-0-19-973245-6)

Seidman, Steven (2015) The Social Construction of Sexuality. (3rd Edition), New York: W. W. Norton & Company. (ISBN 13: 978-0-393-93780-0)

This course ex­amines how our conceptions of gender and sexuality influ­ence our daily lives. The course will focus on how gender and sexuality are socially constructed; on media images of gender, gender inequality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality; on political and social issues associated with gender and sexuality, and on the various ways in which sexuality is practiced.  Prerequisite: SO101 or SO102.

Upon successful completion of the course, each participant should be able to:

• Recognize the importance of social construction of gender and sexualization in American culture.
• Understand how class and race shape the experiences of gender and sexuality
• Demonstrate understanding of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered and queer identities 
• Critically assess the social construction of identity and how gender and sexualization is negotiated 
• Examine the scientific and religious impact on popular conceptions of gender and sexuality