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Sex and the State
| Semester and Year | FA 2012 |
| Course Number | IDSEM-UG1710 |
| Section | 001 |
| Instructor | Lauren Kaminsky |
| Days | Mon |
| Time | 3:30 PM - 6:10 PM |
| Units | 4.0 |
| Level | U |
| Foundation Requirement | SOC |
Description
Why are gay marriage and family planning at the heart of the cultural divide that polarizes contemporary American politics? What is at stake in debates about family values and the right to choose, and what subject positions do these debates produce and refuse? This course will take a comparative look at the ways citizens inhabit categories of sex, gender, and sexuality, with attention to the fact that some identities are made more legible than others. We will call into question the separation of the so-called public and private spheres, asking what is gained and what is lost by imagining a ‘private’ sphere as somehow outside of politics and the market. If we understand registered marriage as one mode of addressing the state, how does it both generate and violate fantasies of privacy? What is the relationship between private property and the sanctity of the home? What bodily practices are at stake in asserting a relationship between sex, dignity and humanity? Readings may include works by Janet Halley, Hendrik Hartog, Saba Mahmood, Timothy Mitchell, Mimi Thi Nguyen and James Scott.
Syllabus
Course Type
Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)
