CMLT 233 - Sexuality and Human Rights


What happens when we think of sexuality, with all of its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context of larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights. In this course, we will read texts by authors such as Sade, Mann, Coetzee, Enchi, and Eugenides to focus on controversial issues, such as sadism, masochism, male homosexuality, lesbianism, age of consent, prostitution, polygamy, and transsexuality, that bring rights confilcts to the forefront.

(formerly CMLT 133)

Course Designation/Attribute: GP,DI

Anticipated Terms Offered: Varied



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