This course explores body, gender, and sexuality in pre-modern Western and Chinese cultural discourses. We will examine representations of gender, sexuality, and sex change in the following sources: 1) Hermaphroditism (intersex) and same-sex desire from Greco-Roman medicine and mythology; 2) Queering Jesus: hermaphroditic Jesus in alchemy (煉金術); 3) The yin/yang 陰陽 androgynous body and sexual vampirism in bedchamber arts (fangzhong shu房中術); 4) Sexual anomalies, sexual relationships between female ghosts/fox spirits and men in Chinese tales of the strange (zhigui志怪). We ask how these imaginative ideas of human anatomy and cultural expression of gender and sexuality challenge our understanding of what it means to be men and women today. Critical examination of these representations suggests that sex, gender, and sexuality were largely social and cultural constructions before modern biomedical knowledge about human bodies took hold.
Upon completion of this course, students will:
1. Demonstrate a fair understanding of cultural discourses on gender and sexuality.
2. Exhibit a comprehension of the interdisciplinary approaches for analyzing gender, sex, and sexuality.
3. Demonstrate adequate written and oral communication skills within various formal and informal circumstances.
This course explores body, gender, and sexuality in pre-modern Western and Chinese cultural discourses. We will examine representations of gender, sexuality, and sex change in the following sources: 1) Hermaphroditism (intersex) and same-sex desire from Greco- Roman medicine and mythology; 2) Queering Jesus: hermaphroditic Jesus in alchemy (alchemy); 3) The yin/yang yin and yang androgynous body and sexual vampirism in bedchamber arts (fangzhong shu 风中书); 4) Sexual anomalies, sexual relationships between female ghosts/fox spirits and men in Chinese tales of the strange (zhigui 志鬼). We ask how these imaginative ideas of human anatomy and cultural expression of gender and sexuality challenge our understanding of what it means to be men and women today. Critical examination of these representations suggests that sex, gender, and sexuality were largely social and cultural constructions before modern biomedical knowledge about human bodies took hold.
Upon completion of this course, students will:
1. Demonstrate a fair understanding of cultural discourses on gender and sexuality.
2. Exhibit a comprehension of the interdisciplinary approaches for analyzing gender, sex, and sexuality.
3. Demonstrate adequate written and oral communication skills within various formal and informal circumstances.
Leah DeVun. “The Jesus Hermaphrodite: Science and Sex Difference in premodern Europe”. Journal of the History of Ideas 69 (2): 193-218.
Gavin Francis. “Gender: The Two Lives of Tiresias”. In Shapeshifters: a doctor’s notes on medicine and human change. Wellcome: 2019, pp. 143-56.
Veronique Mottier. “Before Sexuality”. In Sexuality: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press: 2008, pp. 3-24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDKk0rshtM
Gan Bao 干寶. In Search of the Supernatural搜神記: The Written Record. Translated by Kenneth DeWoskin, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. (selected passages)
Pu Songling蒲松齡. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio 聊齋誌異. Translated by John Minford. Penguin Books, 2006. (“The Merchant’s Son” 賈兒, pp. 133-40; “Lotus Fragrance” 蓮香, pp. 211-28)
Susan Mann. “The Body in Medicine, Art, and Sport,” in Gender and Sexuality in Modern China. Cambridge University Press: 2011, pp. 83-94.
Fuchsia Dunlop. “Dick Soup”. Lucky Peach 2014.
https://medium.com/lucky-peach/dick-soup-b3c7f5651b7a
Viagra Craze: Does Medicine Makes the Man?
Susan Bordo. “Pills and Power Tools”. In Gender Relations in Global Perspective: Essential Readings. Edited by Nancy Cook.
Leah DeVun. “The Jesus Hermaphrodite: Science and Sex Difference in premodern Europe”. Journal of the History of Ideas 69 (2): 193-218.
Gavin Francis. “Gender: The Two Lives of Tiresias”. In Shapeshifters: a doctor’s notes on medicine and human change. Wellcome: 2019, pp. 143-56.
Veronique Mottier. “Before Sexuality”. In Sexuality: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press: 2008, pp. 3-24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDKk0rshtM
Gan Bao 干宝. In Search of the Supernatural 思神记: The Written Record. Translated by Kenneth DeWoskin, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. (selected passages)
Pu Songling Pu Songling. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio Tales from a Chinese Studio. Translated by John Minford. Penguin Books, 2006. -28)
Susan Mann. “The Body in Medicine, Art, and Sport,” in Gender and Sexuality in Modern China. Cambridge University Press: 2011, pp. 83-94.
Fuchsia Dunlop. “Dick Soup”. Lucky Peach 2014.
https://medium.com/lucky-peach/dick-soup-b3c7f5651b7a
Viagra Craze: Does Medicine Makes the Man?
Susan Bordo. “Pills and Power Tools”. In Gender Relations in Global Perspective: Essential Readings. Edited by Nancy Cook.
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| In-classIn-class in-class |
35 | Attendance, Discussion, and Participation. |
| MidtermMidterm midterm |
30 | Create a 4-5 mins video or a picture book illustrating key ideas about sex and sexuality discussed during week 1-8. Present it during the midterm week. This can be done individually or in a group of 2-3 people. |
| FinalFinal final |
30 | Create a poster (PDF) illustrating key ideas about sex and sexuality discussed during week 10-17. Present and talk about your poster during the final week. This can be done individually or in a group of 2-3 people. |
| Self-study (weeks 17 and 18)Self-study (weeks 17 and 18) self-study (weeks 17 stable 18) |
5 | students are to comment on the ideas of sex and sexuality introduced in the selected reading, Gavin Francis. “Gender: The Two Lives of Tiresias”. In Shapeshifters: a doctor’s notes on medicine and human change. Wellcome: 2019, pp. 143-56. |
