Short Essay

1. In what ways has the essentialism versus social constructionism debate shaped the field of the history of sexuality?
2. Is the concept of reproduction useful for comprehending the global history of sexuality and the body?
3. Discuss the relationship between cultural history and the study of gender. Your analysis must touch on at least three of the following genres of historical scholarship: biography, oral history, history of medicine (or science), history of empire (or colonialism), feminist history, and queer history.
4. The twentieth century was a period of global convergence in the history of sexuality. Discuss.
5. Have the feminist movement and the gay and lesbian movement shared the same political agendas?

The short essay (2,500 words) must be submitted at the beginning of class on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Long Essay

1. What does it mean to queer history?
2. Have the social configurations of gender diversified over time?
3. Is the history of sexuality a narrative of increasing sexual liberation?
4. What is global about the global history of embodiment?
5. Modernity entails the social construction of gender, sexuality, and the body. Discuss.
6. What role has geopolitics played in the periodization of gender and sexual history?
7. Has there been a global sexual revolution?
8. In what ways is “colonial encounter” a valuable lens for studying the global history of gender, sexuality, and the body?
9. Do new interpretive perspectives follow from treating “transgender” as a category of historical analysis?
10. Gender, sexuality, and the body are mutually imbricated categories of historical analysis. Discuss.

Students who wish to write on a topic of their own choosing should consult with the module tutor as early as possible.

The long essay (4,500 words) should be submitted both electronically and in hardcopy form to the secretaries in room H342 (not to seminar tutors) by noon on Thursday, April 28, 2016.