Psychology 1703, "Human Sexuality"

Psychology 1703, “Human Sexuality,” must be the only class where a TF could start off her first section by asking, "So, who had sex last night?" and actually get a show of hands. (Nevermind, this is Harvard. Who are we kidding?)



Formerly taught by Adams House Senior Tutor Michael Rodriguez, the class purports to cover everything from anatomy to politics. So, you might you might have to suffer those discussions about gender as a social construction and whether porn contributes to rape.



But you'll also get to study stuff like the stages of female arousal—whoever you are, you'll benefit from knowing what an "orgasmic platform" is. The course videos will expose you to a carnival of penises and vaginas, and you’ll find out what makes for a stable relationship (apparently, it's not just sex). You'll even learn exciting new words, like "tribadism" (Google it!). Section discussion runs from "frank" to "raunchy" as people open up on the finer points of love, gender, and anal sex.



As taught by Rodriguez, this class was a definite gut. The TFs were far too kind and laid-back to care about a late paper here or there (We wonder why they were so relaxed?), and the papers were on sex-related topics of the students’ choosing. While the exams sometimes threw in surprisingly specific questions from the textbook, there were enough pictures of titties to make the reading more than pleasant.



Let's face it—in real life, no one is going to ask you to discuss the constitution of Vichy France or identify a Bach concerto. But whether or not you're "comfortable" with sex, you'll have to deal with it at some time in your life. Isn't that worth using up an elective?



Note: this course was originally taught Michael Rodriguez, but is now listed as "--------" on the course website. It is expected to be offered in 2007, but not this year.