Porn studies

• 26 hrs lectures

Students will become familiar with the academic study of phenomena related to human sexuality and its representation. The course will provide a historical perspective and serve as an introduction to the basic methods of critical analysis of these social phenomena. The tension between artistic production and pornography serves as the starting point, from which students will explore broader phenomena such as the emergence of censorship, the phenomenon of culture wars, emancipation movements, and more. An essential part of the topic also includes current issues regarding the ethical framing of sexual relationships, as well as matters of health, care, consent, and sex education. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide students with insights that will help them understand the phenomena around which tensions may arise in society. The knowledge gained from the course can serve as a tool for breaking down barriers in individual creative expression, such as when working with intimate themes or nudity.

Familiarity with the form of thematic lectures.

• Platon, Sympozion, Oikoymenh, Praha 2000
• Robert Hans Van Gulik, Sexuální život ve staré Číně, Academia, Praha 2009
• Roland Barthes, Světlá komora, Archa, Bratislava 1994
• Vilém Flusser, Za filosofií fotografie, Hynek, Praha 1994
• Tana Modleski, Loving with Vengeance, Mass-Produced Fantasie for Women, Routledge, London 1982
• Rosalind Coward, Female Desire – Women´s Sexuality Today, Paladin, London 1984
• Laura Lederer, Take the Night Back, Bantam Books, 1982
• Lynne Segal, Mary McIntosh, Sex Exposed, Rutgers University Press, 1993
• Naomi Wolf, Mýtus krásy, Aspekt, Bratislava 2000
• Lynda Nead, Female Nude, Routledge, London 1992
• Susan Grifftn, Pornography and Silence, Harper and Row, London 1982
• Blackledgeová, Catherine, Vagina, Triton, Praha 2005
• Martin Putna, Homosexualita v dějinách české kultury, Academia Praha
• Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Venuša v kožuchu, Gilles Deleuze, Masoch a masochizmus, Vydavatelstvo PT, Bratislava 2002
• Erotická Revue I.-III., Torst, Praha 2001
• Linda Kaufmann, Bad Girls & Sick Boys – Phantasies in Contemporary Art & Culture,
• David Wood ed., Torture Garden, Creation Books, London 1996
• Annie Sprinkle, Post Porn Modernist, Torch Books, Amsterdam 1991
• Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, Juno Books, New York 2000
• Wilhelm Reich, Funkce orgasmu, Concordia, Praha 1993
• Bohuslav Brouk, Lidská duše a sex, Odeon, Praha 1992
• Bohuslav Brouk, Autosexualismus a psychoerotismus, Odeon, Praha 1992
• Philips Rawson, Oriental Erotic Art, Gallery Books, New York 1981
• Hynek Záruba, Jošiwara, japonské město milování, Nakladatel Ladislav Šotek, Praha 1927

• Journal PornStudies - https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rprn20
• Michel Foucault, Dějiny sexuality I., II., Herrmann, Praha 1999
• Isabel Tangová, Pornografie – tajné dějiny civilizace, Bbart, Praha 2003
• Linda Williamson, ed., Porn Studies, Duke University Press, Londýn 2004
• Linda Williams, Hardcore, University of California Press, Berkley 1999
• Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, Routledge 2002
• Lynda Nead, Female Nude, Routledge, London 1992
• Kateřina Lišková, Hodné holky se dívají jinam, SLON, Brno 2009
• Katharine Gates, Deviant Desire, Juno Books, New York 2000

The course is structured around several clusters of thematic lessons. At the beginning of each course, after discussing it with the students, we will select a specific focus based on their current interests.
At least two lessons will remain open for other formats—such as screenings or guest speakers.

1. What Are Porn Studies? – Introduction – the history of the field of Porn Studies, the history of the Porn Studies Course at FaVU, presentation of archival student works
2. What, How, and When Is Something Obscene? – Theory and history of the concept of pornography and the term “pornographic,” connections to the development of censorship practices, the dependence of pornographic content on technical media and other conditions, the evolution of legal restrictions, and the current legislative situation in the Czech Republic
3. How and Why to Undress Properly? – A series of lessons on the public presentation of human nudity, exploring it in terms of spiritual and political nudity, with examples of developments in artistic, religious, and activist practices
4. The Madness of Visibility – a series of lessons on the technical image (photography, film, video) and its pornographic manipulation
5. Fatigue with Humanity – a series of lessons on psychological and psychoanalytic perspectives, norms and paraphilias, interspecies relationships, and ecosexuality
6. Ars Erotica versus Scientia Sexualis – a series of lessons on non-European concepts of human sexuality
7. Porn Studies and Contemporary Society – a series of lectures focused on current social issues related to the presentation of sexuality – sex education in schools, the current situation of sex workers, support organizations, and legislative debates – this section is typically based on presentations by guest speakers
   

The following requirements must be met to pass the exam:

• Completion of a final project. The specific assignment is determined through a discussion held at the beginning of the course. This discussion is based on a presentation of student projects from previous years’ courses.
• The final project always includes a creative component (video, graphic design, projects, etc.) and a written component of at least 2,000 characters.