Chapman University
Spring 2023
honors 465: Porn studies
Instructor Contact Information:
- Ian Barnard, Ph.D.
- Office: 428 N. Glassell #104
- Live Office Hours On Mondays and Wednesdays Via Zoom (email me to schedule)
- Email Office Hours: [email protected]
Land Acknowledgement (from Chapman's Wilkinson College website):
Wilkinson College believes all students should be taught the importance of recognizing land to understand the colonizing roots of academia and the way many fields of higher education have been used in the ostracizing, marginalization and disempowering (as well as the stealing of land, forced removal, and genocide) of communities. In doing so, we hope to inspire our students to use their education to challenge institutional and structural barriers to work toward equality, respect, and the lifting of their communities. Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences collectively acknowledges that Chapman University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Acjachemen Peoples in the Juaneño Territory, adjacent to our Tongva/Kizh neighbors to the North and Payomkawichum/Luiseño and Kumeyaay neighbors to the South. In addition, we recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of California’s 109 federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in California, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, and consistent with our values of community and diversity, acknowledge our responsibility to hold the university more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.
Catalog Course Description:
Student Learning Outcomes for This Course:
you will
Honors Program Learning Outcomes:
Upon completing a course in the University Honors Program students will have
Social Inquity GE Learning Outcome:
Required Text (hard copy or digital versions ok; the book is available at the University Bookstore and is on reserve in the Leatherby Libraries):
Course Grade:
This course uses the contract grading system (also known as labor-based grading) that is becoming increasingly common in educational institutions. This means that I will not be “giving” you a grade at the end of the course; rather, you will determine and work toward your own grade, based on the criteria below. I will also not be assigning grades to individual class projects, but will give you plenty of prose feedback on your work. Like other faculty, I am using contract grading primarily for four reasons: 1) research has demonstrated that traditional grading practices are inequitable; 2) since what constitutes “good” or “bad” student work is subjective, contract grading gets rid of this kind of subjectivity because I will not be grading the content of your work; 3) I prefer to give you constructive feedback on your work, rather than have to rank you by assigning a grade to your work; 4) studies have shown that grades inhibit student learning, and students learn more and produce better work when they are not “writing for a grade.” It’s up to you to decide which grade you’d like to work for in this course—I won’t hold your choice against you; a student’s grade is not a comment on their intelligence or indicative of if they’re a good or likeable person or not!
Course Requirements (for more information about the major assignments, including different requirements for each grade, see assignment information below):
Criteria for “B” course grade:
Receive credit for all the above course requirements; to receive credit for an assignment, follow the guidelines in the prompt for that assignment and turn the assignment in on time unless you have prior permission from me for late submission. Final Project: 1500-2000 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least three scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings, at least one article from the journal Porn Studies, and at least one other scholarly source); revise your essay after conference with me.
Criteria for “A” course grade:
Complete the requirements for a “B” course grade plus present a poster of your final project at Chapman’s Student Scholar Symposium on 3 May. Final Project: At least 2000 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least five scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings, at least one article from the journal Porn Studies, and at least one other scholarly source); substantially revise your essay after conference with me.
Criteria for “C” course grade:
Complete the requirements for a “B” course grade except that you may miss up to four assignments in the Course Requirements list marked *. Final Project: 1000-1500 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least two scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings and at least one article from the journal Porn Studies).
Criteria for “D” or “F” course grade:
You do not complete the requirements for a “C” course grade.
Major Assignments:
Course Policies:
Wilkinson College believes all students should be taught the importance of recognizing land to understand the colonizing roots of academia and the way many fields of higher education have been used in the ostracizing, marginalization and disempowering (as well as the stealing of land, forced removal, and genocide) of communities. In doing so, we hope to inspire our students to use their education to challenge institutional and structural barriers to work toward equality, respect, and the lifting of their communities. Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences collectively acknowledges that Chapman University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Acjachemen Peoples in the Juaneño Territory, adjacent to our Tongva/Kizh neighbors to the North and Payomkawichum/Luiseño and Kumeyaay neighbors to the South. In addition, we recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of California’s 109 federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in California, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, and consistent with our values of community and diversity, acknowledge our responsibility to hold the university more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.
Catalog Course Description:
- Prerequisite, acceptance to the University Honors Program, or consent of Honors Program, Director. According to a 2012 businessinsider.com story, "Worldwide, pornography is reported to rake in anywhere from fifty-seven billion to a hundred billion dollars annually. In the United States, it generates more revenue than CBS, NBC, and ABC combined and more than all professional football, baseball, and basketball franchises." Pornography and the porn industry thus demand careful critical consideration as historical, social, cultural, political, and economic phenomena. Moreover, Chapman students have a special proximity to this topic, since the San Fernando Valley, less than 60 miles north of Chapman University, is still considered the porn capital of the world. The course will survey scholarship in the field of porn studies, including work by pioneering feminist and queer porn theorists like Linda Williams and Thomas Waugh, and more recent scholarship at the intersections of critical race studies and porn studies, and trans studies and porn studies. The class will focus mainly on the United States and on film and video. Rather than rehashing decades old pro- vs. anti-porn debates, students will be engaging with scholarship in the field of porn studies that refuses simplistic condemnations of pornography and other kinds of sex work. Students will consider the politics of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability in pornography; questions of representation, production, and authorship; the porn industry from a business and economic perspective; and how new technologies, media, and platforms have transformed the production, consumption, and cultural meanings of pornography. In this course students will watch, read about, and discuss sexually explicit material-students should not enroll in this course if they are unwilling to do this. Student must be 18 or older to enroll in this course. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits.
- This is an in-person class. Click here to review Chapman's COVID-19 protocols--we will discuss these in class.
Student Learning Outcomes for This Course:
you will
- understand what porn studies is as an interdisciplinary field of study, including the history of the field, who the major theorists are, what the major theoretical approaches are, and what issues are being discussed;
- develop your own carefully thought-out critical positions on these issues as a result of reading, writing, and seminar discussion;
- make your own contributions to this field via your original analysis and/or theorization of texts and issues in the field.
Honors Program Learning Outcomes:
Upon completing a course in the University Honors Program students will have
- obtained a starting point for integrative exploration of the development of cultures and intellectual achievements through a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives;
- sharpened their ability to critically analyze and synthesize a broad range of knowledge through the study of primary texts and through engagement in active learning with fellow students, faculty, and texts (broadly understood);
- understood how to apply more integrative and interdisciplinary forms of understanding in the advancement of knowledge and in addressing complex challenges shaping the world;
- developed effective communication skills, specifically in the areas of written and oral exposition and analysis.
Social Inquity GE Learning Outcome:
- Students identify, frame and analyze social and/or historical structures and institutions in the world today.
Required Text (hard copy or digital versions ok; the book is available at the University Bookstore and is on reserve in the Leatherby Libraries):
- Taormino, Tristan, et al., editors. The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure. Feminist Press at CUNY, 2013.
Course Grade:
This course uses the contract grading system (also known as labor-based grading) that is becoming increasingly common in educational institutions. This means that I will not be “giving” you a grade at the end of the course; rather, you will determine and work toward your own grade, based on the criteria below. I will also not be assigning grades to individual class projects, but will give you plenty of prose feedback on your work. Like other faculty, I am using contract grading primarily for four reasons: 1) research has demonstrated that traditional grading practices are inequitable; 2) since what constitutes “good” or “bad” student work is subjective, contract grading gets rid of this kind of subjectivity because I will not be grading the content of your work; 3) I prefer to give you constructive feedback on your work, rather than have to rank you by assigning a grade to your work; 4) studies have shown that grades inhibit student learning, and students learn more and produce better work when they are not “writing for a grade.” It’s up to you to decide which grade you’d like to work for in this course—I won’t hold your choice against you; a student’s grade is not a comment on their intelligence or indicative of if they’re a good or likeable person or not!
Course Requirements (for more information about the major assignments, including different requirements for each grade, see assignment information below):
- Complete all assigned course readings *
- Participate in most seminar discussions *
- Facilitate a seminar discussion of one chapter from The Feminist Porn Book
- Give a presentation with a colleague on a porn film of your choice
- Complete five Canvas discussion posts *
- Complete various informal in-class writing assignments *
- Complete a mid-semester feedback survey on the course *
- Post a draft of your Final Project on Canvas *
- Conference with me on your draft of your Final Project*
- Post your completed Final Project on Canvas
- Miss no more than four class meetings, unless you have documented emergencies that require you to miss more than four classes *
Criteria for “B” course grade:
Receive credit for all the above course requirements; to receive credit for an assignment, follow the guidelines in the prompt for that assignment and turn the assignment in on time unless you have prior permission from me for late submission. Final Project: 1500-2000 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least three scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings, at least one article from the journal Porn Studies, and at least one other scholarly source); revise your essay after conference with me.
Criteria for “A” course grade:
Complete the requirements for a “B” course grade plus present a poster of your final project at Chapman’s Student Scholar Symposium on 3 May. Final Project: At least 2000 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least five scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings, at least one article from the journal Porn Studies, and at least one other scholarly source); substantially revise your essay after conference with me.
Criteria for “C” course grade:
Complete the requirements for a “B” course grade except that you may miss up to four assignments in the Course Requirements list marked *. Final Project: 1000-1500 words (excluding Works Cited list); engage with at least two scholarly sources (including at least one of our course readings and at least one article from the journal Porn Studies).
Criteria for “D” or “F” course grade:
You do not complete the requirements for a “C” course grade.
Major Assignments:
- Discussion Facilitation: You will facilitate a 20-30 minute seminar discussion of one chapter from the The Feminist Porn Book. Class members will read your chapter ahead of time, so you should not summarize the reading or give a lecture on it, but generate discussion that includes as many seminar members as possible. It's up to you how you want to do this: you can have class members write something, you can ask questions, etc. You will need to read your chapter carefully multiple times and look up unfamiliar references in order to prepare for the discussion. You don't have to understand everything in your chapter--it's ok to ask questions about points you find difficult to follow.
- Collaborative Film Presentation: You and a colleague will give an in-class presentation on a porn movie or video of your choice. This can be a film discussed in one of our course readings or one you have found on your own, from any time period and from the US or from another country. Please do not select a film that is illegal in the US. You will need to tell us a little bit about your film (when it was made, what it’s about, why you selected it, etc.), but your presentation should focus on your analysis of the film, not on summarizing the film: what do you find interesting, significant, or problematic about your film itself and/or its production and/or reception, if applicable? Do some research so that you can know the appropriate background of and context for your film, and to see what others have said about your film, if anything. Bring your research and your knowledge about porn studies from our class discussions and readings to bear on your analysis, and, if you feel comfortable doing so, include clips from your film to illustrate your points. If needed, provide appropriate trigger warnings before showing film excerpts or before introducing your film. If you choose to use presentation slides, do not read your slides, but use them as guides for your audience or illustrations of your points. Each presentation will be followed by a Q and A session. All presenters need to be involved in preparing the presentation, giving the presentation, and participating in the Q and A. Each presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes (excluding Q and A).
- Final Project: Write an individual or collaborative essay about any aspect of porn studies that interests you. Your essay could analyze a specific porn film, analyze a film about the porn industry, respond to one or more of our course readings, elaborate on a topic we have discussed in class, or discuss another area of porn studies (including something we may not have addressed in class). You are welcome to base your essay on any of your class writings or presentations. You need to engage with scholarly sources and may also use any other additional sources you like. Cite sources in the body of your essay following MLA (or another scholarly) format and conclude your essay with a Works Cited list following MLA (or another scholarly) format. Don’t forget to include any films you discuss in your Works Cited list! Your goal in your essay should be to make your own argument about your topic, rather than just to repeat what others have said or what we’ve said in class. I encourage you to use the first person in your essay, so that your readers can distinguish your ideas from the ideas that come from your sources. Target readers who are interested in your topic but not necessarily members of our class. Since you will be posting your essay on Canvas, you’re welcome to include images, screenshots, links, and other digital elements. I will give you feedback on a draft of your essay in an individual conference before you post the final version.
Course Policies:
- Citation of Sources: Plagiarism is a contested and context-specific topic. We'll discuss effective ways of using sources and issues around plagiarism in class. Click here to read Chapman University's policy on academic integrity.
- Email Protocol: I acknowledge all email messages within 48 hours. If you email me but don’t get a response, I haven’t received your email. Feel free to email me concerning any questions you have about the course or about your work. It’s important to practice composing professional emails: be sure that your emails to me include appropriate subject lines, salutations, and closes.
- Classroom Dynamics: Honors seminar are discussion-oriented. I do not spend much time lecturing and expect you to participate vigorously in the many discussions around which the course is organized. We all teach and learn in this course--I do not believe in a one-way transmission of “knowledge” from instructor to students. I don’t have all the answers, and I look forward to learning as much as teaching in this course. You should direct your questions and comments in class to your colleagues as much as to me. I encourage you to talk in class and to encourage your colleagues to do the same.
- Diversity: Chapman University is committed to ensuring equality and valuing diversity. Students and professors are reminded to show respect at all times as outlined in Chapman's Harassment and Discrimination Policy. Any violations of this policy should be discussed with the professor, the Dean of Students, and/or otherwise reported in accordance with this policy. Click here to read Chapman University's Statement on Diversity.
- Students With Disabilities: Please contact me early in the semester if you have a documented disability, so that we can discuss what accommodations, if any, I might make to help you to succeed in this class. Click here to read Chapman University's Policy Statement for Assisting Students with Disabilities.
- Electronic Devices: Please bring your laptop to seminar meetings, but do not use electronic devices for non course-related work during class time.
tentative schedule
Readings marked * are on Canvas
Week 1
Monday 1/30/2023
Week 2
Monday 2/6/2023
Week 3
Monday 2/13/2023
Week 4
Monday 2/20/2023
Week 5
Monday 2/27/2023
Week 6
Monday 3/6/2023
Week 7
Monday 3/13/2023
Week 8
Monday 3/27/2023
Monday 4/3/2023
Week 10
Monday 4/10/2023
Week 11
Monday 4/17/2023
Week 12
Monday 4/24/2023
Week 13
Monday 5/1/2023
Week 14
Monday 5/8/2023
Week 1
Monday 1/30/2023
- In-Class Activities: introduction to the course; in-class reading* and discussion; introduction to upcoming reading and reading strategies
- Homework Assignments for 2/1/2023: read assigned articles*
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and criteria for Canvas discussion posts; introduction to upcoming readings; class member introductions
- Homework Assignments for 2/6/2023: read assigned articles*; Canvas discussion post #1 due by 12 p.m. on 2/6/2023
Week 2
Monday 2/6/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and Canvas discussion posts; review discussion facilitation assignment
- Homework Assignments for 2/8/2023: read Introduction to The Feminist Porn Book
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; review films for Canvas discussion post #3; sign up to facilitate a discussion and draw facilitation dates
- Homework Assignments for 2/13/2023: read the "Trans Pornography" issue of Transgender Studies Quarterly*; Canvas discussion post #2 due by 12 p.m. on 2/13/2023; review film selections for Canvas discussion post #3
Week 3
Monday 2/13/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and Canvas discussion posts; sign up for a film for Canvas discussion post #3; review discussion facilitation guidelines
- Homework Assignments for 2/20/2023: Canvas discussion post #3 due by 12 p.m. on 2/20/23; read assigned chapter from The Feminist Porn Book
- In-Class Activities: no class meeting
- Homework Assignments for 2/20/2023: Canvas discussion post #3 due by 12 p.m. on 2/20/23; read assigned chapter from The Feminist Porn Book
Week 4
Monday 2/20/2023
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussion; discuss Canvas discussion post #3
- Homework Assignments for 2/22/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 2/27/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
Week 5
Monday 2/27/2023
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 3/1/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 3/6/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
Week 6
Monday 3/6/2023
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 3/8/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 3/13/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book
Week 7
Monday 3/13/2023
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions
- Homework Assignments for 3/15/2023: read assigned chapters from The Feminist Porn Book; email me your film presentation preference
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussions; mid-semester course feedback; discuss film presentation and draw presentation dates
- Homework Assignments for 3/27/2023: read assigned chapter from The Feminist Porn Book; watch assigned porn movie
Week 8
Monday 3/27/2023
- In-Class Activities: student-led discussion; discuss mid-semester feedback; sample film analysis
- Homework Assignments for 4/3/2023: work on your film presentation
- In-Class Activities: conclude sample film analysis; work on your film presentation
- Homework Assignments for 4/3/2023: work on your film presentation
Monday 4/3/2023
- In-Class Activities: assign discussants; film presentations
- Homework Assignments for 4/5/2023: work on your film presentation
- In-Class Activities: assign discussants; film presentations
- Homework Assignments for 4/10/2023: work on your film presentation
Week 10
Monday 4/10/2023
- In-Class Activities: assign discussants; film presentations; assign final project
- Homework Assignments for 4/12/2023: work on your film presentation; come up with ideas for your final project
- In-Class Activities: assign discussants; film presentations; discuss final project; introduce Porn Studies and assign journal articles; review other sources for final project
- Homework Assignments for 4/17/2023: Canvas discussion post #4 due by 12 p.m. on 4/17/2023; order your inter-library loan articles
Week 11
Monday 4/17/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss Canvas discussion post #4
- Homework Assignments for 4/19/2023: work on your topic for your final project
- In-Class Activities: discuss topics for final project and strategies for engaging with secondary sources
- Homework Assignments for 4/24/2023: Canvas discussion post #5 due by 12 p.m. on 4/24/2023
Week 12
Monday 4/24/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss Canvas discussion post #5
- Homework Assignments for 4/26/2023: work on your final project
- In-Class Activities: work on final project
- Homework Assignments for 5/1/2023: work on your final project
Week 13
Monday 5/1/2023
- In-Class Activities: course debrief; work on final project; sign up for conferences
- Homework Assignments for 5/3/2023: work on your final project
- In-Class Activities: student evaluations of the course; discuss conference protocol; work on final project
- Homework Assignments for 5/8/2022: post your final project draft on Canvas at least two days before your conference
Week 14
Monday 5/8/2023
- In-Class Activities: no class meeting--conferences on final projects
- Homework Assignments for 5/10/2023: post your final project draft on Canvas at least two days before your conference
- In-Class Activities: no class meeting--conferences on final projects
- Homework Assignments: post your final project on Canvas by 12 p.m. on 5/17/2023