The long-term MILIEU course starts on 31 January 2023 at 16:00 o’clock
The next MILIEU initiative we are pleased to announce is the long-term course on Gender and Sexuality: Sociological Dimensions. Like all MILIEU long-term courses, this course is planned as a connected series of lectures to introduce you to the topic and different aspects, but you can also listen to individual topics alone. You will find more about upcoming lectures and topics with details and registration links in the events section of the site.
Instructor: Dr. Shaban Darakchi, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Email: shaban.darakchiev@gmail.com
“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.” Oscar Wilde
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Sex, gender and sexuality have been some of the most discussed and divisive topics in public debate in the past few decades. The interest in these topics in Bulgaria has increased significantly in recent years, when the term “gender”, which was used mainly in the social sciences and the humanities until that moment, entered the public space. Being an object of ideological and political campaigns, the term gender has become an object of propaganda and disinformation that delegitimize the rich base of systematized scientific knowledge on the subject accumulated in the last few decades. Regardless of the extreme importance of these topics, gender and sexuality, with few exceptions, are not present in the mandatory programs of social science departments in Bulgaria, which further contributes to the delegitimization and profaneness of sociological knowledge in the public debate.
The main goal of this course is to analyze and discuss the social and cultural aspects of sex (gender) and sexuality and to present systematically basic sociological approaches and concepts for their study. The course is designed and adapted for a wide audience – both social scientists and those who have not studied this topic before. The theoretical knowledge and skills for reflexive comparative analysis acquired during this course will enrich both the theoretical and methodological framework of social scientists and the ability to speak reasonably in public discussions on the subject.
Course structure: The course consists of two blocks. The first block is focused on the main sociological approaches and concepts that explain the influence of socialization, religion, media, education, culture, politics and other social factors on the formation of the roles of women and men in a historical perspective. The second part of the course presents the main approaches to the study of the mechanisms by which sexual desires and sexual practices are structured by social relations and regulators, and the mechanisms that shape conceptions of sexuality in different cultures and historical periods.
Start date: 31 January 2023
End date: To be confirmed
Admission requirements: None
Examination: None