syllabus
course info
In this course, we will study the multifaceted nexus of language, sex, sexuality and erotic desire. We will examine linguistic and other semiotic resources and strategies people use to construct and perform their sexual subjectivities and identities. The course will provide a forum for an ongoing critical analysis of ways in which sex and sexualities are discursively elaborated, socially valorized and subjected to policing and control. Moving beyond the usual issues of how non-heterosexual orientations/identities are expressed in language (the recurrent question of gay/lesbian/queer ‘language’), we will also deal with ways of indexing ‘straightness’, as well as with the verbal expression of erotic desire. The perspective introduced by various case-studies throughout the course will be interdisciplinary and cross-cultural. This course will give you an opportunity to enhance your critical thinking skills and raise your awareness of sexuality-related issues of power, domination, control, subjugation, racism, inequality, and discrimination.
We will occasionally deal with ‘strong language’ throughout this course. The course is not suitable for those who may find such content objectionable. There will be no pornography in this course!
How do we speak the unspeakable? How do we talk about sex? Why do we talk about it the way we do? And why do we not talk about it when we don’t? Why is sex often taboo?… How do we construct our sexual subjectivities and how do we perform our sexual identities through language-in-use?… Do gays and lesbians have their own language(s)? What are the ‘labels’ that have been applied to non-conformist sexual choices and non-heterosexual orientations throughout history? How have they changed? How and why do some of them get reclaimed and re‑appropriated by the very same people they were intended to offend and discriminate against? And how are some other offensive labels resisted and rejected? What are the main socio-cultural and political significances of these linguistic interventions? What does language have to do with identity politics? What are the main achievements of the sexual-political movements? And what are their shortcomings?… How do we verbalize our erotic desire?… How do we represent our sexuality online, and how do we construct discursively what/whom we want, or do not want?… Why are sexual jokes and innuendoes funny and/or provocative and socially disruptive even when not a single ‘bad word’ is used?
These are among the questions we’ll be asking throughout this course by examining a wide range of examples from around the world. We will critically reflect on insights and concepts from sociolinguistics, sociology, anthropology, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, literary criticism, media studies and related social sciences and humanities with the aim of developing an integrated and interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological toolbox which we’ll apply when analyzing the linguistic and discursive aspects of human sexuality.
The course will provide ample opportunities for you to get hands-on experience by analyzing and discussing real-life language data. You will be expected to do all the assigned readings on time and actively participate in our in-class discussions.
topics
Some of our main topics include, but are not limited to:
- Let’s talk about sex – intro-to-course
- Is gay okay? – from being a “pervert” to becoming LGBTQQxyz…
- ‘Heterosexuality is not normal, it’s just common’ – the discursive construction of sexuality
- 50 shades of ‘No’ – sexuality, desire, and performativity
- What’s your safeword? – negotiating desires
- Act cute – language and heterosexual femininities
- Dude! – language and heterosexual masculinities
- Do I sound gay? – everything you ever wanted to know about ‘queer tongues’
- Finding the white guy, or why some Japanese women learn English
- Grindring & Tindering… and a bit of sexting – desire going online
- ‘No Blacks, no Asians! It’s just a preference…’ – sexuality and racism
- What’s love got to do with it? – language, desire and – believe it or not – emotion!
- Let’s not talk about sex! – coming… to an end
learning objectives
This course aims to
- help you develop a theoretical and methodological toolkit for studying discursive construction and verbal expression of sexualities and erotic desire from a sociolinguistic and discourse analytic perspective;
- provide you with a forum to re-examine critically the legacy of earlier (‘traditional’) approaches to studying the ways language can be used to express and index non-heterosexual orientations and identities;
- examine ways in which heterosexualities are indexed through language;
- engage you with some of the latest literature on language and sexuality and have you critically evaluate its contributions and shortcomings;
- introduce a cross-cultural perspective by drawing on a range of relevant and diverse illustrative examples from different socio-cultural contexts around the world;
- give you an opportunity to conduct research on a topic pertaining to the overall theme of the course, and present your results in an engaging multimedia format.
learning outcomes
By the end of this course, if you invest fully in it, you will be able to restate, define and explain in your own words the terms and concepts discussed in class and the assigned readings. You will be able to apply these concepts when analyzing and discussing various historically conditioned and socially constructed aspects of the relationship between language and sexuality. You will demonstrate your understanding of the most relevant issues by comparing, contrasting and discussing a number of cross-cultural and cross-linguistic examples. You will engage critically with the growing body of academic writing in the field of ‘language and sexuality’. You will produce a solid academic essay in response to a question or set of questions related to the theme of the course. In doing so, you will demonstrate the ability to support your argument by adequately using and citing relevant academic references. Finally, as part of a team, you will conduct research and present your results in an engaging format (video) aimed at a wider, non-academic audience.
1001 nights, or how do I get an A?
Assessment is based on the 1001-points system. Here’s your grade at a glance 🙂
100 Y.M.C.A.
200 It’s raining men
100 I will survive
200 I feel love
251 Brave
readings
Our main textbook for this course is
Cameron, Deborah & Don Kulick (2003) Language and Sexuality. Cambridge University Press.
Other articles, book chapters, and relevant online material will be available on this site, or, occasionally, through the i-NTULearn course page. Printed sources include, but are not limited to:
- Baker, Paul (2008) Sexed Texts: Language, Gender and Sexuality. Equinox Publishing.
- Boellstorff, Tom & William Leap (2004) Speaking in Queer Tongues: Globalization and Gay Language. University of Illinois Press.
- Cameron, Deborah & Don Kulick (eds.) (2006) The Language and Sexuality Reader. Routledge.
- Ehrlich, Susan, Miriam Meyerhoff & Janet Holmes (eds.) (2014) The Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality (2nd ed). Wiley Blackwell.
- Levon, Erez & Ronald Beline Mendes (eds.) (2016) Language, Sexuality, and Power: Studies in Intersectional Sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press.
- Takahashi, Kimie (2013) Language Learning, Gender and Desire: Japanese Women on the Move. Multilingual Matters.
recommended journal: Journal of Language and Sexuality