Course Schedule and Catalog

Department: College Courses

Meeting: 6:00PM - 6:50PM T (13-JAN-2025 - 25-APR-2025) 

Part of Term: Full Term - No WL Purge

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Seminar

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Method of Instruction: Face to Face

Credit Hours: 1

 

Section Max Enrollment: 19

Section Enrolled: 0

Waitlisted: 0 (Max 99) 

Current members of the waitlist have priority for available seats.

Enrollment data as of: 15-NOV-2024 3:17AM

 

 

Final Exam: No Final Exam

 

Description: With varied cultural messages and myths around what sexuality is, should be, and shouldn’t be, how can we demystify pleasure and foster a more informed, and nuanced understanding of human sexuality? This interdisciplinary course takes a holistic approach, starting from the biological mechanisms that shape reception of pleasure (covering embryology, anatomy, and sex), moving through the neuroscience of arousal, desire, and sensation, integrating the psychology of sexuality and pleasure, and finally to the social contexts and philosophical frameworks that shape our understanding of pleasure today. After understanding the foundations, we will discuss special topics in pleasure, such as the ways that trauma, neurodiversity, disability, drugs, and dysfunction impact sexual pleasure. Students will leave with the tools and research to be able to understand how to engage critically with personal and societal narratives around sexuality and pleasure through an interdisciplinary lens. Through assignments focused on reflecting on past experiences and narratives, analyzing fictional case studies, and deconstructing myths or pop culture references, students will better appreciate the complexity of pleasure and human sexuality. Finally, students will contribute to a collaborative class zine, brainstorming and creating articles or artwork on topics of interest, accompanied by academic explanations.