Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Introduction To Gender Studies (Circa 2002-2008) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"'Introduction to Gender Studies' provides students with the intellectual framework to understand and analyze gender. Using a variety of sources from theory, literature, and other media, we will study femininity, masculinity, and some of the steps inbetween."

Sexuality And Human Rights (Spring 2017), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

"What happens when we think of sexuality, with all its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights. In this class, we will focus on the relationship between sex and politics, especially in questions of gay, lesbian, and transgender right, as well as sex work and HIV/AIDS."

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 2014), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

"Sexuality and Textuality" serves as an introduction to gay and lesbian literary studies and queer theory. It looks at questions of sexuality and literature in ancient and early modern texts (from the Hebrew, Greek and English traditions), as well as in modern texts (from German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and English traditions). In addition to literary texts, students will work with a number of cinematic representations of queer sexuality. Besides these primary texts, students will work with important secondary literature about sexuality."

A photo of this Fall 2014 class was taken as part of Professor Bob Tobin's ongoing class photo tradition.

Sexuality And Human Rights (Spring 2014), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

What happens when we think of sexuality, with all of its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context of larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights.

In this class, we will focus on issues such as sadism, masochism, polygamy, prostitution, HIV/AIDS, and transsexuality that bring questions of rights to the forefront.

A photo of this Spring 2014 class was taken …

Global Freud (Fall 2013), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

In 1909, Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis went global. At the behest of Clark's president G. Stanley Hall, Freud traveled with Carl Jung and Sandor Ferenczi from Vienna, capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to speak at Clark University. Clark is the only university in the Americas at which Freud ever lectured and the only university in the world to have given Freud an honorary degree. Freud's visit to Clark took place at the cusp of his career -- ten years before his visit he was known only to a small group in Vienna while ten years after his visit he was …

Human Rights And Literature (Fall 2011), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

In this class, we will be reading literary and cultural documents to contemplate the concept of “human rights.” What rights do all humans have, simply by virtue of being human? Who counts as human? Do current understandings of human rights exclude some people? Do humans have more rights than other species? How do questions of gender and sexuality fit into the discussion of human rights?

As we seek to answer these questions, we will trace the development of human rights discourses from the Enlightenment to the present, looking at literature from a variety of cultures and human rights documents from …

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 2011), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

“Sexuality and Textuality” serves as an introduction to gay and lesbian literary studies and queer theory. It looks at questions of sexuality and literature in ancient and early modern texts (from the Hebrew, Greek and English traditions), as well as in modern texts (from German, French, Spanish, Japanese and English traditions). In addition to literary texts, students will work with a number of cinematic representations of queer sexuality. Besides these primary texts, students will work with important secondary literature about sexuality.

“Queer Theory at the Roundabout.” A special feature of the course this year will be a series of four …

The German Discovery Of Sex (Spring 2011), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

In this course, we will use the tools of literary and cultural analysis, studying fictional, political, psychoanalytic and scientific works to investigate the emergence of modern sexual discourses in the German-speaking world. The Greek term “homo” (same) and the Latinate “sex” (sex) were first combined to describe someone with a sexual interest in members of their own sex in 1869 in the German-speaking world. Similar observations can be made about terms such as “heterosexual,” “masochist,” and “transvestite.” There was apparently an intense interest in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century German-speaking central Europe in reconfiguring and reconsidering sexuality. Out of this …

Sexuality And Human Rights (Fall 2010), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

What happens when we think of sexuality, with all of its transgressive and individualistic energies, in terms of rationally established universal human rights? Literary texts that focus on individual cases in the context of larger cultural and social traditions with a particular attention to the power of language can help us sort through some of the complex ideas that emerge from a discussion of sexual rights. In this class, we will focus on controversial issues--like sadism, masochism, male homosexuality, lesbianism, age of consent, prostitution, polygamy and transsexuality—that bring rights conflicts to the forefront.

A photo of this Fall 2010 class …

German Film And The Frankfurt School (Spring 2009), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

This course is an introduction to German cinema. We will study masterpieces of German film, important critical and theoretical discussions of them, and the contexts in which they were produced and received. As a critical lens, we will rely heavily on psychoanalytic and Frankfurt School criticism, focusing on writings by Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer and Theodor Adorno. By the end of the semester, students should know the history of German film, have a better understanding of German culture, and have developed a critical understanding that is useful for their appreciation of all cinematic form.

A photo of this Spring 2009 …

Sexuality And Human Rights (Spring 2008) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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 …

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 2008), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

“Sexuality and Textuality” serves as an introduction to gay and lesbian studies and queer theory in an international and intercultural context. As we study the representation of sexuality in a variety of cultural contexts, we will ask and begin to answer such questions as:

How does the sexuality of a writer expresses itself in his or her writings?
How does the sexuality of a reader affect his or her reading?
How do rhetoric and language themselves inform sexuality?
Is there such a thing as a sexual culture or subculture?
Is sexuality comparable to gender, race or religion as a marker …

The German Discovery Of Sex (Fall 2007) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"Few people realize that the Greek term "homo" (same) and the Latinate "sex" (sex) were first combined to describe someone with a sexual interest in members of their own sex in 1869 in the German-speaking world. Similar observations can be made about terms …

Sexuality And Textuality (Spring 2007) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"'Sexuality and Textuality' serves as introduction to gay and lesbian studies and queer theory from the perspective of literature and politics. It asks both how the sexuality of a writer expresses itself in his or her writings, but also how rhetoric and language …

Sexuality, Gender And Human Rights (Spring 2006) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"The goal of this course is to learn how to use gender as a critical category to think about sexuality, human rights, and the intersection between the two. We will operate interdisciplinarily, studying philosophical, historical, literary, and legal texts. We will be constantly …

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 2001) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"This class uses an introduction to gay and lesbian studies and queer theory to elucidate important concepts in literary theory, political theory, and gender studies. The first part of the class looks at the question of the historicity of sexuality. To what extent …

Sexuality And Textuality (Fall 1999) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"Sexuality and Textuality seeks to examine the ways in which sexuality has an effect upon literary texts. It questions whether an author's sexuality affects their writing, whether a reader's sexuality affects their reading, and to what extent one can analyze the sexuality of …

Medicine & Literature (Spring 1996) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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.

"In World Literature 390, I want to examine from a literary perspective medicine and medical discourse. How do authors use metaphors of sickness and health, illness and cure, disease and well-being in their literature? How in turn do these literary and rhetorical metaphors affect everyday understandings of these basic concepts?"

Sexuality And Textuality (Spring 1995) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"To what extent is desire a product of discourse, sexuality a product of textuality and vice versa? World Literature 388 attempts to answer these questions by examining texts about sex from a variety of historical periods and cultural backgrounds".

Sexuality And Textuality (Spring 1993) (Whitman College), Robert D. Tobin

Syllabi

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. Several of the courses he developed at Whitman would make the transition to Clark, where they continued to evolve.

"To what extent is desire a product of discourse, sexuality a product of textuality and vice versa? World Literature 388 attempts to answer these questions by examining texts about sex from a variety of historical periods and cultural backgrounds."