The Anthropology of Sex (NEW)

What is sex? Why do we have sex? Moreover, how can we study sex anthropologically and ethically? Both in terms of male/female bodily sexes and in terms of sexual play and desire, sex has been a central concern to anthropologists since the very founding of the discipline in the late nineteenth century. This course analyzes the various aspects of sex from the perspective of two subfields of anthropology: sociocultural anthropology and linguistic anthropology. This includes but is not limited to: social and linguistic constructions of sex and gender; gendered violence; power and language; the regulation of sex; and the queering of sex. Course readings will draw broadly from both historical and contemporary work within sociocultural and linguistic anthropology, as well as critical works (theoretical and historical) in gender/sexuality studies.