GERM 230 - The German Discovery of Sex

Few people realize that the Greek term "homo" (same) and the Latinate "sex" (sex) were first combined to describe someone with a sexual interest in members of their own sex in 1869 in the German-speaking world.  Similar observations can be made about terms such as "heterosexual," "masochist," and "transvestite."  Out of this interest emerged sexologists such as Richard von Krafft-Ebing, whose Psychopathia Sexualia introduced a new vocabulary of sexuality to the entire world, homosexual activists such as Karl Ulrichs, who made arguments about sexual rights that are still prevalent in the gay community today, and Sigmund Freud, whose understanding of sexuality arguably structured much of twentieth century popular culture.  In this course, we will investigate the emergence of modern sexual discourses in the nineteenth-century German-speaking world.

 

Course Designation/Attribute: HP

Anticipated Terms Offered: -

Placement Guidelines
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