New U of M class

Sept_oh_bride

I'm speechless...but it looks real.

http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?BG/317descr

Rett*s_bride

Wow.... I thought it was fake too, but you can search their site and the prof is in the directory. Prof David Halperin - W. H. Auden Collegiate Professor of the History and Theory of Sexuality.

tkmsgirl

How exactly do they grade in a class like that?  You donn't understand gay  men enough, you fail!  Very odd.

emilyandbrady

oh my.  i am a little perplexed.  it seems that this class will serve to further the idea that homosexulaity is something that is "learned" or "decided" upon rather than something that a person just is.  i wonder if u of m will also have how to classes for other minority groups.  maybe they will offer how to be a woman next.  we could all sign up! 

*getting off soapbox now*

Busty_Wench

The name could be better - I agree about it perpetuating the "learned" stereotype - but the class looks fascinating.  Especially if you're a young gay man still living in the closet or just trying to figure out who you are. 

aleeandbry

When I was in college I took a class called "Prostitution and Pornography" and another one called "Mafia."  Neither class was actually as interesting as their title.

emilyandbrady

alicia-where did you go undergrad?

triumphantreturnofplanningbug

Halpern is totally real (and I'm biased because I adore him).  He's one of the best-known (and first) *** theorists, and though the course description does seem like it reinforces the idea of homosexuality as learned, I'm 100% sure he's neither out to convert nor teach how to be gay in the sense of orientation.   LBGTQ communities often have unspoken but relatively strict understandings of appropriate behavior and bodies, and I think he's exploring the sort of stuff you need to know to be in.  I also get the feeling he could be working on a book, and needs the interaction with fresh minds to help him finish