GWSS 290 A: Special Topics in Women Studies

HOW TO HAVE SEX DURING AN EPIDEMIC: INTIMACY, DISEASE, AND THE POLITICS OF VULNERABILITY - THE CORONAVIRUS HAS TRIGGERED A GLOBAL PANDEMIC WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES. LIKE PRIOR EPIDEMICS, IT HAS IMPACTED AND DISORGANIZED EVERY SPHERE AND SCALE OF SOCIETY, FROM THE MACRO, SUCH AS THE "ECONOMY" TO THE MOST INTIMATE, LIKE SEX. IN THIS COURSE, WE WILL USE INTIMACY TO EXAMINE THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL UPHEAVALS IT IS PRODUCING. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARE LABOR, SUCH AS NURSING, AND OTHER FORMS OF INTIMATE WORK, LIKE SEX WORK? WHEN PANDEMICS REVEAL OUR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, IN DOMAINS SUCH AS SEX AND INTIMACY, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE SOCIAL ORDER? USING COMPARATIVE GENDER AND SEXUALITY APPROACHES, WE WILL INVESTIGATE INTIMACY, SEX, AND THE RACIALIZED DISTRIBUTION OF VULNERABILITY IN OUR CURRENT MOMENT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. OFFERED VIA REMOTE LEARNING