GSS 340 - Transnational Sexualities Studies

This course surveys a number of emerging frameworks for rethinking the concept of queerness from a transnational perspective. Our investigations will move between theory and lived experience, within and across national borders, and will challenge key Western assumptions about sexual development, freedom, identity, and citizenship. We will consider questions such as: To what extent do Western paradigms of sex, gender, and sexuality limit our understanding of non-Western sexual cultures? How does the relationship between sexual practice and sexual identity shift across cultures? How do tourists and migrants negotiate, adapt, and remake sexual discourses and economies as they move in and through new spaces? How has the legacy of colonialism shaped and been shaped by sexual practice? How is sexuality used to articulate national, racial, class, and ethnic identities?

Transnational Sexualities will run through the Inside/Out Prison Exchange Program. Half of the class will be comprised of traditional Davidson students, and the other half will be comprised of recently incarcerated students on study-release at the Center for Community Transitions (CCT) in Charlotte. Transportation will be provided to class at CCT; we will depart at 12:45pm each week. An interview with the instructor will be required of all students seeking to enroll in this course.

Satisfies a requirement in the Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor.
Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Intructor Permission required.