American Studies/Interdisciplinary Studies 385
From Archives to iPads: Investigating the Discourse on Sexuality at Emory
Fall 2012
Instructor: Dr. Donna Troka
Email: dtroka [at] emory [dot] edu
Phone: 404.727. 5791
Office: 1599 Clifton Rd. 6th floor, room 204 (office hours by appt.)
Mailbox: S415 Callaway
Classroom: Tuesdays in 215 Emory’s Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT), 2nd floor, Woodruff Library & Thursdays in Woodruff Room, MARBL, 10th floor, Woodruff Library
Course Collaborators:
Erica Bruchko, Humanities Librarian, Woodruff Library (berica [at] emory [dot] edu)
Elizabeth Chase, Coordinator for Research Services, MARBL (eachase [at] emory [dot] edu )
Chris Fearrington, Coordinator, ECIT (cfearri [at] emory [dot] edu)
Randy Gue, Curator of Modern Political and Historical Collections, MARBL (randy [dot] gue [at] emory [dot] edu)
Wayne Morse, Director, ECIT(whmorse [at] emory [dot] edu)
Required Texts:
All readings are loaded onto your iPad and are available on our Blackboard site.
Course Description:
This course aims to investigate how the discourse of sexuality was created by and represented in two of Emory’s publications (Emory Wheel, Emory Report– formerly called Campus Report). These representations will then be located within a larger historical and theoretical context of sexual identity, sexual health, and sexual violence. Half of our class time will be spent in the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) uncovering a record of what was and was not discussed in these publications. The other half of class time will be spent discussing scholarship that will locate and situate our findings while engaging new technologies to help develop a final presentation of our work. Students will not only be introduced to the history and present of sexuality discourse at Emory (and in the South), they will also learn how to do archival research and develop digital scholarship.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate skill in critical thinking, writing, archival research, oral presentation, and group discussion.
- Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate scholarship on sexuality and local discourses of sexuality at Emory.
- Engage with digital scholarship, use it to develop a public conversation about sexuality at Emory, and describe the importance of such a task.
Course Requirements
| Class Participation | 10 points |
| Archival reports | 10 points |
| Blogs & comments | 50 points |
| Timeline entries | 10 points |
| Group video project | 20 points |
| TOTAL | 100 points |
Class participation (10 points)
This class is based on the educational premise that knowledge is constructed through an (inter) active process rather than absorbed passively. Therefore, the format for the course will be a combination of lecture, discussion, and collaborative research with an emphasis on dialogue and sharing of perspectives. Attendance is crucial to your academic performance; you are expected to be an active and informed participant in all class discussions and research days. In order to do this you must have assigned readings completed by the date on which they first appear on the syllabus. If you miss class, you are responsible for getting notes from a classmate, including any altered assignments, project topics, or announcements that were made. So it may be prudent to make a new friend early on. You can miss two classes without penalty, after that you will lose participation points. If you are more than ten minutes late, you will be marked absent.
Weekly Archival reports (10 points: one for each report)
Once a week from Week 3 (week of September 11) until Week 14 (week of November 27) you are expected to upload your archival findings to your Dropbox account (which you will have already shared with me). This is your record of what you have found in MARBL. You must take a clear picture of each article/image you find and denote in a caption what publication it is from and the date it was published (with 12 pt. Calibri font).
Blog Entries (50 points; 10 blogs @ 4 points each + 10 comments @ 1 point each)
Ten times during the semester you are expected to write a blog entry in response to the connections between the assigned readings and your findings in the archives. When the readings do not connect to what you are researching in the archives, make connections between the readings and current events. You are also expected to post a comment in response to one of your classmate’s blog posts. You must post your blog entry and comment by 9pm Sunday night so that everyone in the class has time to read it before our class on Tuesday morning. You can blog more than ten times (I love a robust virtual discussion!) but you will only receive credit for ten posts. (https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/sexualityatemory/
A word on blog comments: These comments don’t have to be long, but they should be substantive (i.e avoid simply saying, “I totally agree” and instead tells us WHY you agree). Please also keep comments respectful and professional. This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with people, it just means you have to make an argument for why you disagree with them rather than simply calling them a knucklehead.
You will also be asked to email at least one of the scholars we are reading to invite them to participate in our blog discussion. Details for this will be discussed in class.
Timeline Entries (10 points; 5 entries @ 2 points each)
Five times during the semester you will be asked to submit entries to our course interactive timeline on Sexuality at Emory (http://www.dipity.com/dtroka/From-Archives-to-iPads-Investigating-The-Discourse-on-Sexuality-at-Emory/) The topics for these entries are of your choosing, but try to be creative (i.e. if you are on Team Sexual Health, don’t make all five of your entries be about HIV/AIDS). They can include text, images, and/or video. Please make sure you “sign” your entry on Dipity with your name so you can receive credit for it. You must create a dipity profile before you can post. We will go over how to do this in class.
Final video project and presentation (20 points)
At the end of the semester you will be asked to present a video project you have created with your group. This video will showcase the narrative you have crafted that explains and connects the “artifacts” you uncovered during your semester long research. More specifics on this assignment will be distributed during class.
HOUSEKEEPING:
Please note that readings and assignments are due on the dates designated in the syllabus. If an emergency arises and you make arrangements with me ahead of time, I may agree to accept a late assignment. If I do not agree or if you have not made prior arrangements with me, you will receive a lower grade. Be aware that my definition of “emergency” includes such things as “major cardiac surgery” and “being in labor” and not “I am hung over” or “I have another paper to write.”
If you are a student with a disability, you may receive extra assistance from the Office of Disability Student Services located at 110 Administration Building, their phone number is 404.727.1065. Also, please contact me if you have any type of disability and we can discuss how it may or may not affect your participation in this class.
Please read and abide by the Emory University honor code. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonestly, please discuss them with me BEFORE handing in your work. For more on this go to: www.emory.edu/COLLEGE/students/honor.html
Please make sure all cellular phones and pagers are turned off throughout our entire class session. If it becomes an annoyance, you will lose participation points.
Please also be certain to always bring a digital/ hard copy of our class readings every day that we discuss them.
Because this is a class about sexuality, we may discuss or view sexually explicit material. Should this make you uncomfortable at any time, please let me know and we can arrange alternative ways for you to participate.
As per TITLE IX, it is my legal obligation as a university employee to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and abuse and take appropriate action, even if the student that reports the harassment/abuse does not wish to pursue the disciplinary process. For more information on this process, please go to: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.html
I reserve the right to make changes in this schedule if the need arises. Necessary changes will be announced in class.
RESEARCH GROUP BREAKDOWN:
Early History: (all of us first two weeks)
TEAM ONE: Sexual Identity 1 (SI1): Desire, Dating, Marriage (1920-1980)
TEAM TWO: Sexual Identity 2 (SI2): Desire, Dating, Marriage (1981-2012)
TEAM THREE: Sexual Health 1 (SH1): Reproduction/Abortion/Birth Control (1960-2012)
TEAM FOUR: Sexual Health 2 (SH2): STIs and HIV/AIDS (1980-2012)
TEAM FIVE: Sexual Violence (SV): (1960-2012)
CLASS SCHEDULE
| Th- 08/30 | Course introduction |
| Tu-09/04 | Give out iPads; Introduction to technology (Morse & Fearrington) |
| Th-09/06 | Introduction to archives (Bruchko & Chase) |
Early History of Emory & Sexuality
| Tu- 09/11 | Look at Emory History Website: http://emoryhistory.emory.edu/history/index.html
Urban, Andrew. “Romance and Race in the Jim Crow South…” Adams, Allison. “Kitty’s Cottage and the Methodist Civil War.” |
| Th-09/13 | Research day |
Sexual Identity: Desire, Dating, and Marriage
| Tu- 09/18 | Christopher, F. Scott & Susan Sprecher. “Sexuality in Marriage, Dating, and Other Relationships.”
Schwartz, Pepper & Virginia E. Rutter. “Sexual Desire and Gender.” “Holy Matrimony” by Lisa Duggan (http://www.thenation.com/print/article/holy-matrimony ) “A Contentious Debate: Same-Sex Marriage” http://www.pewforum.org/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality /A-Contentious-Debate-Same-Sex-Marriage-in-the-US.aspx ) |
| Th-09/20 | Research day |
| Tu-09/25 | Prause, Nicole and Cynthia A. Graham. “Asexuality: Classification and Characterization.”
“School’s Out: Asexy Teens” by Sharday Mosurinjohn (http://bitchmagazine.org/post/youth-and-asexuality-feminism ) Diamond, Lisa M. “Female Bisexuality from Adolescence to Adulthood.” Angelides, Steven. “Introducing Biseuxality.” |
| Th-09/27 | Research Day |
| Tu-10/02 | Peplau, Letitia Anne and Adam W. Fingerhut. “The Close Relationships of Lesbians and Gay Men.”
Boykin, Keith. “Ten Things You Should Know About the DL.” Johnson, E. Patrick. “Sweet Magnolias: Love and Relationships.” Smith, Donna Jo, “Queering the South” Heterosexuality Quiz |
| Th-10/04 | Research Day |
| Tu-10/09 | Bogle, Kathleen. “Hooking Up: Men, Women, and the Sexual Double Standard.”
Holland, Janet et al. “In the Same Boat? The Gendered (In) Experience of First Heterosex.” Windsor, Elroi and Elisabeth Burgess. “Sex Matters: Future Vision for a Sex-Positive Society.” |
| Th-10/11 | Research Day |
| Tu-10/16 | NO CLASS- Fall Break |
Sexual Health: Reproduction, Abortion, Birth Control, STIs, and HIV/AIDS
| Th-10/18 | Research Day |
| Tu-10/23 | DeLamater, John D. and William N. Friedrich. “Human Sexual Development.”
Moore, Nelwyn B. and J. Kenneth Davidson. “Communicating with New Sex Partners.” Abbey, Antonia et al. “Condom Use with a Casual Partner. Simonds, Wendy. “From Contraception to Abortion: A Moral Continuum.” |
| Th-10/25 | Research Day; Dr. Troka at conference |
| Tu-10/30 | Levine, Judith. “Community: Risk, Identity, and Love in the Age of AIDS.”
Carlos Del Rio guest lecture from Viral Cultures (15 minutes) Nack, Adina. “Damaged Goods: Mixing Morality with Medicine.” Centers for Disease Control. “STD Trends in the United States: 2010 National Data for Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and Syphilis.” (http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats10/trends.htm ) |
| Th-11/01 | Research Day |
| Tu-11/06 | Mukherjee, Joia S. “Structural Violence, Poverty, and the AIDS Pandemic.”
Richardson, Diane. “In/Visible Women and Dis/Appearing Men.” Allen, Peter Lewis. “AIDS in the USA.” (AMST students only) Higgins, Jenny et al. “Rethinking Gender, Heterosexual Men, and Women’s Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.” (IDS students only) |
| Th-11/08 | Research Day |
Sexual Violence: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Abuse, and Rape
| Tu-11/13 | Guest lecture from Lauren Bernstein, Coordinator of the Respect Program, Office of Health Promotion at Emory University
Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence by the American College Health Association |
| Th-11/15 | Research Day |
| Tu-11/20 | Armstrong, Elizabeth et al. “Sexual Assault on Campus: A Multilevel Integrative Approach to Party Rape.”
Walker, Jayne et al. “Effects of Rape on Men: A Descriptive Analysis.” |
| Th-11/22 | NO CLASS-Thanksgiving |
| Tu-11/27 | Gavey, Nicola. “ ‘I Wasn’t Raped, but…’: Revisiting Definitional Problems in Sexual Victimization.
“Springer, Kimberly. “Queering Black Female Heterosexuality.” |
| Th-11/29 | Research Day |
| Tu-12/04 | GROUP PRESENTATIONS- Groups 1 & 2Comment on presentations after they are posted on blog |
| Th-12/06 | GROUP PRESENTATIONS- Groups 3, 4, and 5Comment on presentations after they are posted on blog |
| Tu-12/11 | Comments on group presentations due on BlogCourse Conclusion |