India

State and Society in Modern India

The contents within this section may be utilized for any course related to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies (GWS), although were specifically created to be utilized in upper-division GWS courses taught through the Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy at Metropolitan State University of Denver.  In addition, the content was developed as part of the requirements for a 2018 Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad in India.  Each subheading has been matched with a GWS course:

Course Descriptions

Theories of Love and Sex

The course introduces and synthesizes theories from philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, religion, and literature about love and sex. The complexities of love and sex, including their fundamental meanings, contemporary understandings, identity implications as well as their historical constructions are explored. An important dimension of this exploration is the source and meaning of the moral valuation assigned various forms of sexual activity.

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Analyze major theories, empirical data, and contemporary experience regarding the topics of love and sex.
  2. Critically examine socially normative categories of sexuality for their functions and limitations.
  3. Debate ethical implications and the significance of sexual identities.
  4. Delineate the connection between gender and sexuality, given how the terms are used among theorists.
  5. Critique contemporary and historic notions of love and sex as expressed in familial, romantic, fraternal, and humanitarian forms across cultures.

Bodies and Embodiment

This course introduces and synthesizes theories from philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, religion, and literature about love and sex. The complexities of love and sex, including their fundamental meanings, contemporary understandings, identity implications as well as their historical constructions are explored. An important dimension of this exploration is the source and meaning of the moral valuation assigned various forms of sexual activity.

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Analyze major theories, empirical data, and contemporary experience regarding the topics of love and sex.
  2. Critically examine socially normative categories of sexuality for their functions and limitations.
  3. Debate ethical implication and the significance for identity of sexualities.
  4. Delineate the connection between gender and sexuality, given how the terms are used among theorists.
  5. Critique contemporary and historic notions of love as expressed in familial, romantic, fraternal, and humanitarian forms.

Queer Sexualities and Identities

This course explores the various ways in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals represent themselves vis-a-vis the social construction of identity and resistance. The course analyzes the general strategies LGBTQ individuals (and their communities) utilize to self-identify their gender. Issues of queer social presentation and performance are addressed. Intersections between queer identity and issues of race, ethnicity, and class are investigated. Power and privilege embedded within the LGBTQ visual identity and social control issues are also analyzed.

Course Learning Objectives

  1. Distinguish various gender identities that relate to the LGBTQ communities.
  2. Analyze the social power dynamics regarding queer identity that challenge “normative” social structures and social status.
  3. Investigate race, ethnicity, and class as it affects LGBTQ identity.
  4. Assess instances of social resistance practices through LGBTQ visual identity to theories of social control.

Curriculum Goals

My overall goal for participating in the India Fulbright-Hays GPA was to gather substantial information for a new section on “Eastern” philosophies and practices of the body for GWS 3230, Bodies and Embodiment.  Prior to the India GPA, the course focused on Western philosophies of the body and the consequences of these philosophies on practice and experience (i.e., how mind/body dualisms relate to sex, gender, and identity).  In particular, the India GPA provided a broader perspective on how Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Islamism impact the perceptions of bodies and embodiment, and consequently how sex, gender, and sexuality are understood in a wildly diverse country like India.

In addition, the experience provided a wealth of information about the experiences of sex and gender minorities in India and their movements toward equality; this information enhances GWS 3930, Theories of Love and Sex, which already has a cross-cultural component, and GWS 3490, Queer Sexualities and Identities, which explores third and fourth genders across the globe.

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