| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Core | SHS202804 | 2 |
Semester and Year Offered: 1st Semester
Course Coordinator and Team: Dr. Amrita Nandy
Email of course coordinator: anandy@aud.ac.in
Course description and objectives
Committed to nuanced thinking and intellectual rigour, the course will build/deepen a holistic understanding of identity, rights and democracy through the prism of human sexuality. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, it delves into key concepts, theoretical perspectives as well as developments in the domains of sexualities. Inter-disciplinary resources will help students critically engage between the intersections of sexualities and other social constructs of personhood. The course helps find answers to fascinating questions such as: when does the formation of the human sexual subject and identity become interlinked? What kind of politics do sexuality/sexualities spark? How does sexuality permeate structures of rights, governmentality and, more importantly, how do structures of power reshape it to make it governable?
The course is aimed not just at a critical understanding of our outer social worlds--we also turn our gaze inwards. Reflective and self-reflexive, students consider how we participate in and resist normative sexual cultures, and thereby use our agency (or not) in individual and social transformation.
It will be taught via an assortment of historical and contemporary texts--films, social debates, mythology, public campaigns and so on. Besides lectures and tutorials, each module will feature workshops and group work to encourage active, engagement-based learning.
Brief description of modules/main modules:
MODULE 1
An introduction to sexuality studies that joins the dots between the personal and the political, and takes us to the encounter of essential human experiences and their socio-political manifestations. Through a genealogy of the word ‘sexuality’, this module traces the history of when and how talking about and studying human sexuality came to be, and why. We unpack the inter-disciplinary lens on sexuality in the Indian and global context.
Themes
Texts
For reference
MODULE 2
From the emergence of homosexuality as an identity to its journey across geographies and cultures, this module dwells on the discourse and challenges around non-normative sexuality and queerness. We probe what diverse sexualities represent, and how they are represented and received.
Themes
Natural = Normal = Straight?
The homo/hetero binary versus the sexuality spectrum
Chronicles of queerness in India
Texts
For reference
Menon, M. 2018. Infinite Variety: A History of Desire in India. Speaking Tiger (Introduction and select chapters).
MODULE 3
The third part of the course shifts to the politics of intimacy and the problematization of public and private. How is sexuality produced and governed, including in marital and non-marital relationships? What about non-reproductive sexuality that does not serve the agenda of heterosexual (patriarchal) marriage? Can we reimagine selfhood and the family?
Themes-
Biopower (incl. in the Indian context)
The ‘proper’ family, a state-market agenda
Institutionalization of sexism in the Indian family
Texts
For reference
MODULE 4
This is a deeper dive into the politics of identity and rights. How do identity-based politics navigate legalities and (what claims to be) ‘religion’? What about identity politics within the flux of sexual diversities? What is the encounter of sexuality with other markers of identity such as caste or disability?
Themes
Fixity, fluidity: identity politics of sexuality
Texts
For reference
Course outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Assessment criteria:
Additional reading
