154:060; 045:060; 008:050

Sex and Popular Culture in the Postwar US

Instructor: Rob Latham

Course Times: Mondays & Wednesdays, 4:30-5:20, in 100 Phillips Hall, plus sections

Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00-2:30 PM, in 472 EPB

E-mail/Phone: rob-latham@uiowa.edu; 335-0465 (EPB office)

Course Homepage: http://www.uiowa.edu/~c008171/robspage/sexpopsyll.htm

Required Texts (available at Prairie Lights Bookstore on Dubuque Street):

• Barbara Ehrenreich, The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment
• Ann Bannon, Beebo Brinker
• Allen Ginsberg, Howl and Other Poems
• Diane Di Prima, Memoirs of a Beatnik

Also Required:

• Course Reader (available at Zephyr Copies on Washington Street)
• Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge (you will need to buy a used copy; try bookfinder.com or amazon.com)

Screenings: Three films will be screened over the course of the semester; there will be two screenings of each film. All students are urged to attend; copies of the films will be available in the main library's Media Center for those with conflicts. You must view the films before the following lecture sessions. The dates, times, and locations of the screenings are as follows:

• The Seven-Year Itch
• Mon. 9/17, 6-8 PM, in C20 Pomerantz Center
• Tue. 9/18, 8-10 PM, in C20 Pomerantz Center
• Pillow Talk
• Mon. 9/24, 6-8 PM , in C20 Pomerantz Center
• Tue. 9/25, 8-10 PM, in LR1 Van Allen
• Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice
• Mon. 11/5, 6-8 PM, in C20 Pomerantz Center
• Tue. 11/6, 8-10 PM, in C20 Pomerantz Center

Description: This course offers an introduction to the study of postwar American popular culture from a sexuality studies perspective. Questions addressed include: How do popular texts reflect and influence prevailing sexual norms and behaviors? Do the forms of representation specific to different media affect how sexual issues are formulated or addressed? How do audiences--mainstream and subcultural--negotiate their relationship to popular culture in terms of sexuality? How do the politics of sex, as articulated by the feminist and gay rights movements, intersect and/or conflict with the institutions of popular culture? Are the ideologies and practices of popular consumption expressly or implicitly erotic? Students address these (and other) questions by focusing on diverse material drawn from American popular culture of the 1950s and 1960s. Coverage is multimedia in orientation, ranging from pulp novels and comic books, to drive-in movies and television sitcoms, to rock-and-roll music and magazine advertisements. Relevant historical, critical, and theoretical readings supplement these primary materials. Students not only amass a wealth of information about sexual themes in American popular culture during the 1950s and 1960s, but also develop a set of critical tools permitting them to analyze popular texts dealing with sexuality.

Requirements and Assignments: The first requirement is regular preparation, attendance, and participation. In terms of preparation, you must be here for every class meeting with the day's readings and viewings completed. My lectures will build on the assigned texts, providing crucial historical and theoretical background, so skipping class meetings or falling behind will seriously impede your comprehension. General outlines of my lectures will be posted on the course website, but these should not be considered replacements for the lectures themselves. Formal attendance will be taken during the lectures and section meetings; if you miss more than four lectures and two section meetings for unexcused absences, you will receive an “F” for your attendance and participation grade. Finally, you should plan to participate regularly in discussion during your section meetings; if you routinely remain silent, you can expect to be called upon by your section leaders.

The required writing consists of bi-weekly reading responses and three take-home essay exams.

The reading responses should briefly (one single-spaced, printed page is fine) record your observations, ideas, questions, and/or criticisms inspired by the assigned texts. These responses should consist of more than raw reading notes or knee-jerk emotional reactions: they should be serious, thoughtful engagements with the material. You don’t need to write about every item assigned during a given week, but you do need to show a solid, concrete grasp of the text(s) you decide to write about. In other words, you should stick closely to commentary on the assigned texts rather than using the responses as opportunities to offer personal digressions or sweeping generalizations.

The response papers will be collected in your section meetings and will be used as a basis for discussion. You are required to produce a response every other week on a rotation format based on the first letter of your last name. No late response papers will be accepted under any circumstances, and if you miss handing in more than two of them, your final grade for this assignment will be an F.

The take-home exams will ask you to develop substantial analyses of the assigned texts using perspectives and information provided during lecture. Each exam will require you to produce two short (3-4 page) essays focusing on particular topics; I will circulate detailed topic sheets at least one week before the exams are due giving you a range of options from which to choose. The essays will be graded based on the following rubric.

Due to the large size of this class, it is impossible for me to accept late papers for any reason short of serious illness or other unavoidable catastrophe. The first two exams are due in lecture on Mondays of the weeks assigned and must be collected at that time, so make your preparations for planning and writing them accordingly. The final take-home exam will be due during exam week (see below).

Grading: The breakdown in grading is as follows: attendance & participation = 10%; bi-weekly response papers (total of 7) = 15%; take-home exams = 25% each, towards your final grade.

Various policy matters: This course is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive the approval of the Dean of the College.

If you have a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing, or other class requirements, you should speak with me so that appropriate arrangements may be made. It is also your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services, 3100 Burge Hall (335-1462), to obtain a Student Academic Accommodation Request form (SAAR), which will specify the required accommodations.

Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit the sexual harassment awareness site at www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/ for definitions, assistance, and the full University policy.

Any concerns you may have about grading or the conduct of your discussion section must first be addressed with your section leader. If the two of you are unable to resolve the problem, you may then (and only then) come and speak with me. If a satisfactory resolution remains unmet, you may contact the Director of the Division of Interdisciplinary Programs, Lauren Rabinovitz (lauren-rabinovitz@uiowa.edu, 335-0320). After these options have been exhausted, you may turn to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and submit a written complaint to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, 120 Schaeffer Hall (335-2633). Please note: in complaints involving the assignment of grades, it is college policy that grades cannot be changed without the permission of the department concerned.

If you plagiarize or otherwise cheat on any assignment, you will receive an F on the assignment and may even fail the course. Plagiarism occurs when you use someone else's work without due credit, whether you do this intentionally or not. This means that whenever you employ another person's words or ideas, you must cite them directly. For more information, consult the Student Academic Handbook statement on “Academic Fraud, Dishonesty, and Cheating.”

Finally, a gentle warning: The materials and issues covered in this class will sometimes be provocative or controversial. I certainly don’t expect you to agree with (or approve of) everything we discuss, but I do expect you to approach the course with an open mind and a willingness to consider the importance of these materials and issues in their historical contexts.

Weekly Schedule:

(Note: Items marked wih an asterisk are in the Course Reader)

Week One. Introduction: Sexual Liberalism in Postwar America

Mon. 8/27:

• Review of syllabus
• Introductory lecture

Wed. 8/29:

• Introductory lecture, cont’d.

Week Two. TV & Family Values

Mon. 9/3:

• University holiday

Wed. 9/5:

• Lynn Spigel, “Television in the Family Circle” *

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Three. Women's Roles in the 1950s

Mon. 9/10:

• Betty Friedan, “The Problem That Has No Name” & “The Sexual Sell” * (from The Feminine Mystique)

Wed. 9/12:

• James Davidson and Mark Lytle, “From Rosie to Lucy: The Mass Media and Images of Women in the 1950s” *

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Four. Men's Roles in the 1950s

Mon. 9/17:

• David R. Shumway, “Watching Elvis: The Male Rock Star as Object of the Gaze” *

Screening: The Seven-Year Itch (1955)

Wed. 9/19:

• Barbara Ehrenreich, “Breadwinners and Losers: Sanctions Against Male Deviance” & “Early Rebels: The Gray Flannel Dissidents” (in The Hearts of Men, chapters 2 & 3)

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Five. Singles Culture

Mon. 9/24:

• Barbara Ehrenreich, “Playboy Joins the Battle of the Sexes” (in The Hearts of Men, chapter 4)

Screening: Pillow Talk (1959)

Wed. 9/26:

• Helen Gurley Brown, “How to Be Sexy” (from Sex and the Single Girl) *

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Six. Homosexuality and Delinquency

Mon. 10/1:

• Frederick Wertham, “'I Want to Be a Sex Maniac!': Comic Books and the Psychosexual Development of Children”

FIRST TAKE-HOME ESSAY EXAM DUE

Wed. 10/3:

• Richard Dyer, “Coming Out as Going In: The Image of the Homosexual as a Sad Young Man” *

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Seven. Pulp Sex

Mon. 10/8:

• Ann Bannon, Beebo Brinker, pp. 3-123

Wed. 10/10:

• Bannon, Beebo Brinker, pp. 124-233

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Eight. Beats and Beatniks

Mon. 10/15:

• Barbara Ehrenreich, “The Beat Rebellion: Beyond Work & Marriage” (in The Hearts of Men, chapter 5)

Wed. 10/17:

• Gregory Corso, “Marriage”
• Jack Kerouac, The Subterraneans (excerpt) *

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Nine. Sexual Underworlds

Mon. 10/22:

• Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” (in Howl and Other Poems)

Wed. 10/24:

• In-class screening: Pull My Daisy (1958)

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Ten. Communal Sex: From Beatnik to Hippie

Mon. 10/29:

• Diane di Prima, Memoirs of a Beatnik, pp. 3-97

Wed. 10/31:

• Samuel Delany, Heavenly Breakfast (excerpt) *

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Eleven. The Sexual Revolution: Togetherness Gone Wrong?

Mon. 11/5:

• Nuel Emmons, Manson in His Own Words (excerpts) *

Screening: Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (1969)

Wed. 11/7:

• Barbara Ehrenreich, “The Androgynous Drift: Counterculture vs Masculine Culture” (in The Hearts of Men, chapter 8)

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Twelve. Women's Liberation

Mon. 11/12:

• Dana Densmore, “On the Temptation to Be a Beautiful Object” *
• Andrea Dworkin, “Pornography: The New Terrorism”

SECOND TAKE-HOME ESSAY EXAM DUE

Wed. 11/14:

• Anne Koedt, “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm”
• Radicalesbians, “The Woman-Identified Woman”

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Thirteen. Thanksgiving Break

Week Fourteen. Gay Liberation

Mon. 11/26:

• Carl Wittman, “Refugees from Amerika: A Gay Manifesto” *

Wed. 11/28:

• The Boys in the Band (1970), screening excerpts in class

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Week Fifteen. Satirizing Sex in the 60s

Mon. 12/3:

• Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge, chapters 1-20

Wed. 12/5:

• Vidal, Myra Breckinridge, chapters 21-29

Response Papers Due: A-M

Week Sixteen. Wrap-up and Review

Mon. 12/10:

• Gore Vidal, Myra Breckinridge, chapters 30-42

Wed. 12/12:

• Wrap-up and review

Response Papers Due: N-Z

Exam Week.

Final exam due on Monday, December 17, by 5 PM in 201 Jefferson Bldg.