Dr. Jeanie Clifford Merced College

PSYC-22 Fall 2009

HUMAN SEXUALITY

Section # 1947

TTh: 9:30am - 10:45am

V-8

FACULTY INFORMATION:

Jeanie Clifford, Ph.D. Office Phone: 384 - 6070

Office: IAC 214 Email: clifford.j@mccd.edu

COURSE WEB PAGE: http://www.mccd.edu/faculty/cliffordj/

Grades, lecture outlines, announcements, and course information will be maintained on the web page. Check this page regularly for updates.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

PSYC-22 explores the psychology of human sexuality. Biological, psycho-social, and socio-cultural research is presented concerning all aspects of human sexuality in contemporary society. Specific topics include human development and sexuality, sexual orientation and behavior, contraception and sexually transmitted infections, sexual dysfunction, and prostitution.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Critique the psycho-socio approach employed in the study of human sexuality.
Evaluate a specific element of human sexuality through the application of basic psychological research techniques.
Formulate an understanding of how economic, political, and social forces impact individual orientations toward human sexuality in contemporary society.
Critically evaluate and differentiate biological and physiological research regarding human sexuality.
Evaluate pertinent social science literature regarding the study of human sexuality.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:

Strong, Yarber, Sayad, & Devault. (2008). Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America. (6^th Edition). McGraw Hill.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:

Six Scantrons (form No. 882-E) available for purchase at the bookstore.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Academic dishonesty is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and is handled by the Vice-President of Student Personnel.

Merced College has the responsibility to ensure that grades assigned are indicative of the knowledge and skill level of each student. Acts of academic dishonesty make it impossible to fulfill this responsibility, and they weaken our society. Faculty, students, administrators, and classified staff share this responsibility.

Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion, misuse of college computers and software, and other dishonest conduct. Students in violation of the Merced College Academic Honesty Student Code of Conduct are subject to dismissal from this course.

Plagiarism involves directly quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing the work of others without specific indication of sources, or handing in work that is not the student's own. Cheating is the unauthorized giving or receiving of information in examinations or other exercises. Instructors have the responsibility to report such incidents and serious penalties may be imposed, depending on the nature of the incident.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

For the benefit of everyone, disruptive classroom behavior will not be tolerated. Students who are disruptive will be asked to leave. Do not use cell phones or other devices during class (i.e., do not make or receive calls, text message, take pictures, or make audio or video recordings with any device). If you must leave class early for any reason, please inform me prior to the start of class and sit toward the back of the room so that your exit does not create a disturbance. Some of the material covered in this course is controversial. It is important for students to show respect for their classmates, guest speakers, and the instructor. Please feel free to come to me with questions or concerns.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Students are expected to attend each class and to be responsible for all of the materials covered in lecture and text. In most instances lectures will complement and NOT review the assigned reading materials. Consequently, if for some legitimate reason you are unable to attend class it will be advisable for you to make arrangements with another student to acquire the lecture notes and to stop by during my office hours if you have questions regarding the material.

PUNCTUALITY:

It is important to be on time to each class. Important announcements will be made at the beginning of class (e.g., reminders, expanded assignment instructions, changes to the class schedule, etc.). If you are late, you may miss these announcements. Do not come late to the final exam. The exam will end when the last person who arrived on time has completed their exam. This means that if the final exam starts at 10am and everyone who arrived on time is finished by 10:30am, the class will end at that time. If you come in at 10:25, you will only have 5 minutes to complete the 80 question exam.

EMAILING THE PROFESSOR:

Every student has a Merced College email account. If you wish to contact me via email, it is best to use your campus email account. The college has a filter that blocks many emails from outside addresses. If you email from another account, you take the risk of having your message blocked. Go to the Merced College homepage (www.mccd.edu) and click on the MCCD Portal to access your email account and many other resources. If you turn in an assignment via email, you do so at your own risk. If I do not receive the message for any reason, the assignment will not be accepted or will be counted late. In addition, I will not accept assignments that are sent as attachments. For these reasons, please turn in your assignments in person.

DISABLED STUDENT SERVICES:

If you have a verified physical, medical, psychological, or learning disability or perhaps you feel you may have one of these disabilities which impacts your ability to carry out assigned course work, please contact the Disabled Student Services (DSS) office. DSS staff will review your needs and determine what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential. DSS is located in the Lesher Student Services Bldg. Room 234, phone 384-6155. In Los Banos, DSS is located in Building A, phone 381-6423.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COURSE

Merced College does NOT assign an automatic "W" or "Withdrawal" grade if you stop attending class or turning in assignments. You will receive an "F" to connote you failed the course. It is your responsibility to officially drop the course by the drop date.

GRADE CONTRACT:

Your course grade will be based on the following:

Exams: There will be 5 exams consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions. Each exam is worth 40 points. The questions will be taken from the text, lectures, guest lectures, class activities, and videos.

(Total Possible Points: 5 X 40 = 200)

Final Exam: The final exam is comprehensive and will consist of 80 questions, each worth .5 points.

(Total Possible Points: 40)

Active Learning/Critical Thinking: Throughout the course, you will have many opportunities to participate in group and individual critical thinking activities. You must be in class and participate to earn these points.

(Total Possible Points: 30)

Paper: This assignment is worth 20 points and is due at the beginning of class on December 1^st. Be sure to turn this paper in on time. Five points will be subtracted for each day the paper is late. This means that a paper turned in on Wednesday will only be worth 15/20 points. A paper turned in on Thursday will only be worth 10/20 points.

(Total Possible Points: 20)

So, there are a total of 250 points available, and your course grade will be assigned according to the following criteria:

90% = 225-250 = A

80% = 200-224 = B

70% = 175-199 = C

60% = 150-174 = D

Below 150 = F

Extra Credit Opportunity:

You may submit a 2 page summary on an article from a newspaper, journal, etc., in order to earn up to 5 points of extra credit. This assignment is due by December 8^th.

Make-ups: Your lowest scoring exam or final will be dropped. If you miss an exam for ANY reason, that will be the score that is dropped and replaced by your score on the final exam. Except for extraordinary circumstances, make-up tests will not be given. If a make-up is approved, it will be administered with the final exam.

Point Record: The record below is provided to assist you in keeping track of your points. All scores are recorded in my grade book and those are the official scores.

Exam 1: /40

Exam 2: /40

Exam 3: /40

Exam 4: /40

Exam 5: /40

Final Exam: /40

Paper: /20

Extra Credit: /5

Active Learning: /30

WRITING ASSIGNMENT

For this assignment, you will write a paper in which you will apply psychological/sexuality concepts to your personal experiences. You will write about material relevant to human sexuality. The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to practice writing, to apply what you learn, and to help develop critical thinking skills. Choose topics from the list below. Your paper will be two to three double-spaced typewritten pages in length and the topic and journal entry number should be listed at the top of the first page. Grades will be based on quality, thoughtfulness, clarity of expression, grammar, spelling, etc. This assignment is due at the beginning of class on Dec. 1^st.

Paper Topics

1. Conduct an interview with someone about a topic relevant to the course material.

2. Respond to something you learned in lecture.

3. Respond to something you learned in the textbook.

4. Respond to something you read outside of class concerning a topic relevant to the study of human sexuality.

5. Respond to something you learned from a panel or guest speaker.

6. Respond to the film shown in class (And the Band Played On) or another film relevant to the course material.

COURSE SCHEDULE

This syllabus is tentative and subject to change. All changes will be announced in class.

DATE TOPIC READING

Week 1

Aug. 18 Introduction

Aug. 20 Perspectives on Sexuality

Week 2

Aug. 25 Female Sexual Anatomy & Physiology Chapter 3 (pp. 69-79, 91-101)

Aug. 27 Male Sexual Anatomy & Physiology Chapter 4 (pp. 106-116, 122-124)

Sexual Arousal & Response Chapter 3 & 4 (cont.)

Week 3

Sep. 1 Exam 1: Chapters 1, 3, & 4

Sep. 3 Attraction Chapter 9 (pp. 264-269)

Week 4

Sep. 7 Attraction Chapter 9 (pp. 264-269)

Sep. 9 Love Chapter 8

Week 5

Sep. 15 Love Chapter 8

Sep. 17 Communication Chapter 8

Week 6

Sep. 22 Conception, Pregnancy, & Childbirth Chapter 12 (pp. 382-385)

Sep. 24 Conception, Pregnancy, & Childbirth Chapter 12 (pp. 382-385)

Week 7

Sep. 29 Contraception Chapter 11

Oct. 1 Exam 2: Chapters 9, 8, 11, 12

Week 8

Oct. 6 HIV & AIDS

Film

Oct. 8 HIV & AIDS

Film

Week 9

Oct. 13 HIV & AIDS Chapter 16

Oct. 15 HIV & AIDS Chapter 16

Week 10

Oct. 20 Sexually Transmitted Infections Chapter 15

Oct. 22 Sexually Transmitted Infections Chapter 15

Week 11

Oct. 27 Preventing STIs Chapter 9 (pp. 273-285)

Oct. 29 Exam 3: Chapters 15, 16, 9, & Film

Week 12

Nov. 3 Gender Chapter 5

Nov. 5 Gender Chapter 5

Transgender Issues Chapter 1 (pp. 18-19)

Chapter 5 (pp. 154-157)

Week 13

Nov. 10 Sexual Orientations Chapter 1 (pp. 16-17)

Chapter 6 (176-177)

Chapter 7 (pp. 193-198,200-204)

Chapter 12 (pp. 406-407)

Chapter 17 (pp. 597-600)

Nov. 12 Sexual Orientations (Cont.)

Week 14

Nov. 17 Exam 4

Nov. 19 Sexual Coercion Chapter 17

Week 15

Nov. 24 Sexual Coercion Chapter 17

Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Holiday—No Class

Week 16

Dec. 1 Atypical Sexual Behavior Chapter 10

***Paper Due***

Dec. 3 Sexual Difficulties Chapter 14

Sexual Therapy & Enhancement Chapter 14

Week 17

Dec. 8 Sex for Sale Chapter 18 (pp. 643-652)

***Extra Credit Due***

Dec. 10 Exam 5: Chapters 10, 14, & 17, 18

FINAL EXAMINATION: Tuesday, December 15^th at 9:00 AM in V-8