By some accounts, pornography has existed for centuries. But for most of its history, pornography was extremely secretive and difficult to access. That began to change in the early 1970s, when 'hard core' films like Deep Throat were released in mainstream theaters. Shortly thereafter, pornography would be consigned to dedicated 'adult' theaters (usually in seedy parts of town), but technological advances—video cassette players, and then DVDs—would soon make pornography accessible in the home. Nowadays, of course, pornography is just a click away, and pornography has become part of the cultural landscape, not to mention a major factor in many people's sexual education.
So if, indeed, pornography has become a form of sex education, what kinds of lessons does it teach? What kinds of effects does pornography have on sexuality? Unsurprisingly, feminists have been especially concerned with the effects that pornography has on the social status of women, but it is not difficult to find pornography that exploits and seemingly reinforces racial stereotypes (much so-called 'inter-racial' porn) and other stereotypes, as well (for example, mainstream 'girl-girl' porn and much mainstream trans porn).
What should we make of this situation, and how should we respond to it? Those are the questions that will guide our investigation. We'll also spend significant time, however, learning how to analyze pornography and will end the semester by considering the question whether pornography can be `art', or, more generally, whether pornographic media even admit of serious analysis.
No specific prior preparation is required, but many of the articles we will be reading are dense and difficult. As usual with 1000-level philosophy courses, then, it's recommended that students have taken a prior course in philosophy. Previous work on gender, sexuality, or feminist theory can substitute. But none of these are absolutely essential.
There is one required textbook for the course: Linda Williams's classic study of pornography as film, Hard Core. There should be copies at the Brown bookstore. The book is also available, of course, through other outlets. List price is $31.95.
We will also be reading a number of papers by Rae Langton. These are collected in her book Sexual Solipsism. And we will be reading a few papers from Art and Pornography, edited by Hans Maes and Jerrold Levinson. So you might want to get copies of those, too, but you do not have to do so (and I did not order them).
All readings beside the Williams are accessible both from the course website and from Canvas. For some of the papers linked from the course website, you will need a username and password that will be distributed in class and is available on Canvas. Please do not share it.
As said above, the articles we will be reading are often difficult. You should expect to read each article at least twice in order to understand it. The first time you read an article, I'd suggest you just read through it quickly, or even just skim it; don't worry too much if you're not getting everything. At this point, you're just trying to get a general sense for what the author is trying to do. The second time you read the article, you should slow down. This is when you really do want to pause and think carefully through the various arguments that the author is giving. The reading notes will answer many of the questions you might have, and will explain terminology that might be unfamiliar. It is up to you when you read the notes, but you should definitely read them. The notes are, in effect, a written version of the lecture I will not give, since I will not be lecturing.
Especially for those of you less experienced with philosophy, I recommend reading Jim Pryor's guide on how to read a philosophy paper. He also has a useful guide on how to write a philosophy paper. They are really terrific.
NOTE: Many of the papers we will be reading contain frank discussions of, and sometimes first person reports of, sexual violence. The reading syllabus will contain warnings where appropriate. If you find that you are just not able to post about a particular paper, just let us know, and you can post on a different one later.