E-Book Overview
The Education of Eros is the first and only comprehensive history of sexuality education and the “problem” of adolescent sexuality from the mid-20th century to the beginning of the 21st. It explores how professional health educators, policy makers, and social and religious conservatives differed in their approaches, and battled over what gets taught about sexuality in schools, but all shared a common understanding of the adolescent body and adolescent desire as a problem that required a regulatory and disciplinary education. It also looks the rise of new social movements in civil society and the academy in the last half of the 20th century that began to re-frame the “problem” of adolescent sexuality in a language of rights, equity, and social justice. Situated within critical social theories of sexuality, this book offers a tool for re-framing the conversation about adolescent sexuality and reconstructing the meaning of sexuality education in a democratic society.
E-Book Content
THE EDUCATION OF EROS
“Dennis L. Carlson’s latest book is nothing less than magisterial. Working across a broad swath of historical and theoretical material, he illuminates a century of discussions around sex and sexuality education in fresh and exciting ways. This book is absolutely essential for anyone attempting to understand and intervene in these important debates. This book is ‘ground zero’ for all future discussions around the cultural politics of sex and sexuality education.” Greg Dimitriadis, University at Buffalo/The State University of New York The Education of Eros is the first and only comprehensive history of sexuality education and the “problem” of adolescent sexuality from the mid-20th century through the first decade of the 21st. It explores how professional health educators, policy makers, and social and religious conservatives framed the problem and articulated educational responses. Although they differed in their approaches, and battled over what got taught about sexuality in schools, these groups all shared a common understanding of the adolescent body and adolescent desire as a problem that required a regulatory and disciplinary education. The latter half of the 20th century also witnessed the rise of new social movements in civil society and the academy that began to reframe the “problem” of adolescent sexuality in a language of rights, equity, and social justice. The century ended with sexuality education in a moribund state in public schools, but with new discourses emerging that pointed toward a democratic reconceptualization of education and the problem of adolescent sexuality. Situated within critical social theories of sexuality, this book offers a tool for reframing the conversation about adolescent sexuality and reconstructing the meaning of sexuality education in a democratic society. It speaks to a wide audience, including university faculty and graduate students in curriculum studies, sociocultural foundations of education, cultural studies of education, and health education. It is written to be broadly accessible and useful to education faculty, students, teachers, community activists, and all those interested in adolescent education and sexuality education. Dennis L. Carlson is Professor of Curriculum, Cultural Studies of Education, and the Social Foundations of Education, Miami University.
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