HIST 96.43 Histories of Pornography
The ubiquity of pornography in the internet age raises difficult questions about how to balance values of freedoms and privacy against the potential harms pornography can inflict on individuals and society. If the legal, administrative, and especially technological landscape are dramatically new, debates about the promise and perils of pornography have existed for centuries. This seminar will explore the changing ways that societies and governments have approached “obscenity” and “pornography” while also centering the way that scholarly debates have been enmeshed in contemporary struggles over the protection of youths, free speech, sexual freedoms, women’s rights, and other social and political causes.
Instructor
Petruccelli
Department-Specific Course Categories
Class of 2023 and Before Major/Minor Dist: EUR; Class of 2024 and Beyond Major/Minor Dist: EUR, modern.