Sexuality and Human Rights (Spring 2008) (Whitman College)

This course was taught by Robert Tobin at Whitman College. Professor Tobin worked at Whitman for 18 years as associate dean of the faculty and chair of the humanities, and was named Cushing Eells Professor of the Humanities. Since the Enlightenment, a discourse of human rights has emerged that began to be codified in international law after the Second World War. In this course, we ask whether sexuality can be understood in terms of rights. Do people have a right to sexual expression? If so, what limits can be placed on that right? How does sexuality differ from race or gender when it comes to questions of rights? Gay rights (including sodomy laws and gay marriage) will be central to the course, as well as transgender rights. We will also study such issues as polygamy, bestiality, and the sexual rights of the young