Obscenity, Censorship, and the Regulation of Morals in the US from 1873 to Present
AMST 273
Fall 2012
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 273 |
This course examines the social, cultural, and political foundations of censorship in the United States from 1873 to the present. Beginning with the passage of the Comstock Act and continuing through the pornography wars of the 1980s, students will evaluate an array of primary and secondary sources that illuminate the anxieties, fears, and changing understandings of morality that informed the drive against indecency. The readings will pay particular attention to the role that gender, class, sexuality, and religion played in establishing a modern definition of obscenity. The class will also chronicle the continuing struggle to promote civil liberties, exercise freedom of speech, and subvert censoring regimes through direct resistance and subtle manipulation. Documenting campaigns against the birth control movement, sex radicals, film, theater, homosexuality, comic books, pornography, and political dissidents, this course seeks to critically examine the role of censorship in a democratic society. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Patricia Cline Cohen, Timothy J. Gilfoyle, Helen Lefkowitz, THE FLASH PRESS: SPORTING MALE WEEKLIES IN 1840'S NEW YORK
Andrea Friedman, PURIENT INTERESTS: GENDER, DEMOCRACY AND OBSCENITY IN NEW YORK CITY 1909-1945, New York Columbia University Press 2000
Majorie Heins, NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN: 'INDECENCY', CENSORSHIP AND THE INNOCENCE OF YOUTH
Course pack/Case discussion
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Examinations and Assignments:
3 papers, including a final paper (12-15 pages) that analyzes a legal case involving obscenity |
| Instructor(s): Hoffman,Brian Scott Times: ..T.R.. 09:00AM-10:20AM; Location: FISK404; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 30 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 5 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 5 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 10 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 5 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 4 |
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