Enrolments for 2021 have closed.
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.
History of Sex and Sexuality
Undergraduate | GRF-HSY204 | 2021
Course information for 2021 intake
View information for 2022 course intakeTurn 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.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
History of Sex and Sexuality
About this subject
At the completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Explain why sexuality is an important lived experience and category of historical analysis
- Understand the complexities and variabilities of bodies and genders, and sex and sexuality
- Locate sex and sexuality within wider social, political and economic histories
- Appreciate diverse cultural and political perspectives sensitively and ethically
- Analyse and evaluate the relationship between historical concepts and contemporary perspectives
- Develop sustained, logical and informed arguments about the histories of the body, gender, sex and sexuality
- Analyse, evaluate and synthesise a range of historical sources
- LGBTIQ identities and cultures
- Heterosexuality
- Ancient Greece and Rome
- The church
- The Victorians
- Teenagers
- Medicine and science
- Colonisation and empire
- Law and regulation
- Marriage and relationships
- Prostitution
- Pornography
- Sexual revolutions
- Birth Control
- Disease
This unit explores histories of sex and sexuality from antiquity to the present. Taking a chronological approach, we will investigate diverse topics including pornography, marriage, crime, birth control, sexology, sexual revolutions, queer lives and the internet.  The course focuses on practices, identities and attitudes in Europe, the US and Australia and considers how gender, class and ethnicity inflect public narratives and intimate lives.  We will examine the different meanings people and institutions have attached to desire, bodies, and sexuality and think about our contemporary lives and possibilities.
- Tutorial reading responses (15%)
- Case Study (35%)
- Essay (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Others
This is a Level 2 subject. Completion of at least one Level 1 History subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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