Reflection 1: This is How We Do It—Sex Education Here and Abroad

Speaking to a United Nations AIDS conference in 1994, then-US Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders suggested that masturbation was "part of human sexuality and, perhaps, it should be taught." After a quick public outcry, she was fired by President Clinton. Twenty-five years later, masturbation is only one of many topics that remain taboo in the sex education classes of America. Today, fights rage over everything from abstinence-only programs to the presence of contraceptives on campuses, even the mere mentions of abortion and homosexuality are hotly debated. While some Americans favor sex education based on current sexual health information, others insist on abstinence-based approaches—if at all. Thus, sex education here varies widely from state to state, even county to county. But what of the rest of the world? What are some of the approaches other countries are taking to teach (or not teach) their citizens about sexual health? What issues are other countries tackling that aren't mentioned in the American national dialogue. Finally, what, if anything, should we adopt from other countries?

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "Sex Education" (Last Week with John Oliver)
• "Swedish Sex Education has Time for Games and Mature Debate" (Guardian)
• "Sex Ed Outside the U.S. Teaches Kids About Masturbation, Consent, and Orgasms—and It's Working (MTV News)
• "These are the States with the Worst Sex Ed" (Vice)
• "Wales is Leading the Way in LGBT-Inclusive Sex Education" (Vice)
• "Seven Problems with the State of Sex Ed in America Today, and How We Can Make it Better" (Bustle)

Required:

• MLA Style
• 375-500 words
• Works cited page

Due: Thu 2.14

Week 3: Brazil

Iguazu Falls, Brazil

Week 3: Brazil
Mon 2.4/Wed 2.6
Read: eR—“American Ignorance” (InsideHigherEd), “Many of Trump’s Supporters Never Left Their Hometowns” (The Atlantic), “Opinion: Americans Need to Consume More Foreign News” (The Daily Northwestern), “Most Young Americans Can't Pass a Test on Global Affairs—Can You?” (National Geographic)
Class: Presentation sign-ups; Lecture—“Building a Better Multimedia Presentation: An Annotated Look,” “You’re in College Now: The New Rules of University Writing”

Upcoming:

Week 4: China
Mon 2.11/Wed 2.13
Read: eR—“The True Cost of American Insularity (Wharton Magazine), “‘America First’ Signals Insularity and Smallness” (San Antonio Express-News), “What Does an Insular US Mean for the Rest of the World?” (CNN), “Why Americans Have Come to Worship Their Own Ignorance” (MacLean’s), “How to Fix American Stupidity” (Time)
Class: DIAGNOSTIC; Lecture—“You’re in College Now: The New Rules of University Writing,” “MLA Style 101,” and “MLA Style 101”
Due: REFLECTION 1

Global News 1.30

• CHINA: Chinese military unveils the most powerful naval gun on the planet (CNBC)
• UNITED STATES: American intelligence chiefs contradict Trump's foreign policy assertions (Salon)
• MEXICO: Inside El Chapo's Robin Hood-like mystique in Mexico (Reuters)
• INDIA: Mother, suspected of being a witch, burned along with her four kids (BBC News)
• AUSTRALIA: Summer heat so extreme that snakes are seeking refuge indoors (ScienceAlert)
• UNITED KINGDOM: Scottish MPs say a Scottish independence referendum is "an option" post-Brexit (Bloomberg)

 

Week 2: Israel

Jaffa, Israel

Week 2: Israel

Mon 1.28/Wed 1.30

Class: Syllabus review; Introductions, Lecture—“The Great World Affairs Quiz"     

Upcoming:

Week 3: Brazil

Mon 2.4/Wed 2.6

Read: eR—“American Ignorance” (InsideHigherEd), “Many of Trump’s Supporters Never Left Their Hometowns” (The Atlantic), “Opinion: Americans Need to Consume More Foreign News” (The Daily Northwestern), “Most Young Americans Can't Pass a Test on Global Affairs—Can You?” (National Geographic)

Class: Presentation sign-ups; Lecture—“Building a Better Multimedia Presentation: An Annotated Look,” “You’re in College Now: The New Rules of University Writing”

Week 1: Chile

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Week 1: Chile
Mon 1.21/Wed 1.23
NO CLASS

Upcoming:

Week 2: Israel

Mon 1.28/Wed 1.30

Class: Syllabus review; Introductions, Lecture—“The Great World Affairs Quiz”