Syllabus
21/2
Theories of sexuality
Pfaus (1999)
Pfaus, Ismail, Coria-Avila (2010)
Bancroft, Janssen (2000)
Perelman (2009)
Toates (2009)
Abramson PR, Pinkerton SD. (2002) 28/2
Development of sexuality; Anatomy and physiology of sexual stimulation and response
Pfaus et al. (2012)
Pfaus, Kippin, Coria-Avila (2003)
Beach (1976)
Buss (1989)
Erskine (1989)
Levin (2004a,b)
Levin (2009)
McCarthy (2020)
Waldinger et al. (2009)
Becker et al (2002)
Komisaruk et al. (2006)
Janssen (2007)
Nelson (2005) 7/3
Endocrinology and neurochemistry of the sexual response
Pfaus (2009)
Pfaus, Ismail, Coria-Avila (2010)
Stanislaw, Rice (1988)
Lim et al. (2004)
Young, Wang (2004)
Becker et al. (2002)
Nelson (2005)
Pfaff (1999) 14/3
The experience of sex
Pfaus et al. (2016)
Pfaus et al. (2012)
Pfaus, Kippin, Coria-Avila (2003)
Toates (2014)
Young, Alexander (2012) 21/3
Conditioning and sexual behavior
Pfaus et al. (2020)
Pfaus et al. (2012) 28/3
What does sex mean to individuals versus society?
Edelman (2009)
Miller et al. (2007)
Krafft-Ebing (1886/1929)
Hatfield, Rapson (2005)
Maines(1999)
Symons (1980)
Wolf (1997) 4/4
Sexual orientations: Theories and controversies
Balthazart (2020)
Fausto-Sterling (2019) 11/4
"Ultimate" vs. "Proximal" causality
Pfaus et al. (2012)
Pfaus, Kippin, Coria-Avila (2003)
Bagemihl (1999)
Buss (1994)
Symons (1980) 18/4
Velikonoční pondělí - nevyučuje se
N/A 25/4
Sexual revolutions 2/5
Student presentations 9/5
Student presentations 16/5
Student presentations and epilogue
Readings in bold are journal articles. Readings in normal typeface are recommended books.
Annotation
The aim of this course is to consider how sexual behavior is influenced by so-called "hard-wired" genetic, molecular, and biological factors, and so-called "soft-wired" environmental, sociological, and cultural factors, often referred to as "socially constructed," and how the two conspire. We will consider how particular (and peculiar) experience with sexual stimulation and reward comes to alter brain neurochemistry, sexual behavior, stress, self-perception, and ultimately the function of society.
The first half of the seminar will be instructional and interactive. We will explore where sex has been and where it is now. Surely sexual behavior in each species is unique and has evolved to meet particular genetic and environmental pressures. Yet we also know that sexual behavior operates from (and on) hormonal and neurochemical systems that have been conserved from invertebrates, birds, and lizards. How can that be? And to make matters worse, the "meaning" of sex has had vastly different interpretations throughout the ages. For something we do with statistical regularity as a species, it seems odd that we understand so little in the face of so much evidence-based, clinical, and anecdotal information. We will begin with an overview of theories of sexual function and consider how such theories help and hinder our understanding of four basic sexual responses: arousal, desire, pleasure, and inhibition. We will move on to consider the hormonal, neurochemical, and neuroanatomical systems that form the basis of sexual response, and whether sex differences in behavior translate into differences (or similarities!) in brain function. The role played by sexual experience will be considered, both in terms of how sexual behaviors and responses become "crystallized" into particular patterns, but also in terms of the role played by sexual reward or pleasure in the activation of bonding mechanisms. How those mechanism translate into concepts like monogamy, polygamy, love, jealousy, and how they are formally constructed by human culture into institutions like marriage will be considered. How those mechanisms are altered by experience must also take into consideration the temperament of each individual, and how one person's aphrodisiac is another dysfunction. The role of sexual reward must also be considered in the formation of sexual preferences, ideals of beauty, along with "alternative" patterns of sexual behavior, including fetishes and paraphilias, and their impact on society (and vice-versa). Consider this: within the last century masturbation went from being a mental disorder that demanded remediation through often devastating "cures", to being the basis of the now multi trillion-dollar web-based porn industry. Homosexuals went from being murdered, marginalized, and/or classified as mentally disordered, to being fully accepted at all levels of society, heralded in popular TV shows and movies, celebrated in Pride parades, and to being one of the only groups in Western culture actively trying to preserve the institution of marriage! In some cases, the dramatic change in perception has occurred only within the last 40 years. This begs the question of how and when sexual "revolutions" occur, and what drives them. We will end the instructional part by considering how sexual revolutions change information quickly, but why attitudes take longer to change.
The last two classes are reserved for student presentations. You will choose a topic in consultation with me to present in a 15-min Powerpoint overview to the class. This overview will form the basis of your 20-25 page (double-spaced) review paper that you will write on the topic. Your topic should be chosen by the end of the second lecture so that you have enough time for your research, presentation, and paper.