Warning! This unit contains mature content and may not be suitable for some students. Any student under the age of 16 who would like to enrol in this unit must first complete a Parental Consent Form.
Undergraduate GRF-HSY204-2022
Histories of Sexuality
Turn the pages of time in the history of sex and sexuality. Cover sexology, romantic friendships, prophylaxis and queer lives – spanning from ancient times through to today. Explore how gender, class and ethnicity comes into play in intimacy.
$1,828 $2,078
Your upfront cost: $0
Duration
13 weeks
Study method
100% Online
Available loans
- HECS-HELP
- FEE-HELP
Assessments
100% online
Prior study
Not required
Start dates
- 18 Jul 2022
- 07 Nov 2022
QS RANKING 2022
17
Times Higher Education Ranking 2022
13
Subject details
At the completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Understand patterns, trends, and themes in the history of sexuality
- Contextualize sex and sexuality within wider social, political and economic settings
- Explain diverse historical, cultural and political perspectives sensitively and ethically
- Develop sustained, logical and informed scholarship about histories of the body, gender, sex and sexuality
- Locate and interpret primary sources and material culture
-
- Perspectives on the history of sexuality
- Dominance and submission in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Virginity and chastity and the early Christians
- Medieval sexuality
- The puritans: Austerity in the American colonies:?
- 'Enlightened' sexuality in the eighteenth century
- The Victorians
- Friends and lovers: Romantic friendships and marriage
- Dating and mating: teenagers
- Sexualities under fire: The Second World War
- Sexual revolutions
- Androids and Apps: Sexuality in the twenty-first century
Others
This is a Level 2 subject. Completion of at least one Level 1 History subject or cognate subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Please note: This subject was previously known as - 'History of Sex and Sexuality'
Sexuality saturates modern life. Our sexual and gender identities signal our selfhood to others and define who we are, whether that's straight, queer, trans or gender diverse, or one of many other possibilities. Sex is everywhere, from the sheets to the streets, to the internet. How we present ourselves, who we are intimate with, what we do and how often we do it is the subject of commentary, intervention, and regulation. But who has determined what's 'unnatural' and what's 'normal and when? What have historical actors, experts and institutions said in the past about sex? And have ordinary people always followed the rules?
This unit explores histories of sex and sexuality from antiquity to the present. Taking a chronological approach to private practices and erotic lives, we will investigate diverse topics, including prostitution, marriage, crossdressing, birth control, war, chastity, queer lives and the internet to identify historical change and continuity. The course focuses on practices, identities and attitudes in Europe, the US, and Australia to consider how gender, class and ethnicity inflect public narratives and intimate lives. Using primary sources and historical objects, you will investigate the meanings people and institutions attach to desire, bodies, and sexuality at different times and places and interrogate our contemporary sexual lives and their possibilities.
- Online Discussion (30%)
- Case Study - Minor Essay (30%)
- Major Essay (40%)
Current study term: 17 Jul 22 to 14 Oct 22
Check the learning management system (LMS) of your university for textbook details.
Next study term: 06 Nov 22 to 15 Jan 23
Check the learning management system (LMS) of your university for textbook details.
Related degrees
Undergraduate GRF-ART-DEG-2022
Bachelor of Arts
- Major in Art History
- Major in Creative Writing
- Major in Criminal Justice
- Major in History
- Major in Journalism
- Major in Literature
- Major in Media Studies
- Major in Public Relations
- Major in Screen Culture
- Major in Sociology