Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | PSY-2120-VO01 - Human Sexuality

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Mary Ann Boyd
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Kate Hughes

General Education Requirements

VSCS Social Sciences

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course explores personal, social, cultural, and historical beliefs, attitudes, and values toward human sexuality. Topics may include reproductive anatomy and physiology, psychosexual development, and contemporary, social, cultural, and political issues.

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the biological basis of sexuality including male and female anatomy, physiology, and roles in reproduction.
2. Discuss sexuality from a developmental perspective, including gender roles and social and emotional changes throughout the lifespan.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the continuum of sexual expression and identity.
4. Discuss psychosocial roles of intimacy, love, communication skills, and consent in sexual behavior.
5. Describe commonly used methods of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, pros and cons of using different methods, and reasons why they may fail.
6. Identify causes, symptoms, and impact of common sexually transmitted infections.
7. Explore the current understanding in the field of psychology regarding normative sexual behavior and sexual disorders as identified in the current diagnostic manual.
8. Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary political and cultural issues related to human sexuality.
9. Distinguish between fact and opinion, recognize unstated assumptions, and evaluate arguments according to the quality of supporting evidence.
10. Locate, select, and effectively use research materials that address specific issues in the study of human sexuality.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Spring 2024 textbook details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

PSY-2120-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Hello, My name is Mary Ann Boyd, LICSW, and I will be your instructor this semester for "Human Sexuality", PSY-2120-VO01. I'd like to start by saying that I truly love teaching this course, and I am confident in saying it will be quite an interesting...and yes, fun journey for us all. No matter if you are a student with the goal of working in any of the helping professions, are just curious about this course, I truly believe you will be happy to be part of the journey. Frankly, sexuality is a topic which is not openly, or factually discussed in our society...in fact, it is almost considered "taboo" or "shameful" for many. Therefore, the topic is often avoided...or giggled about, and the result is that we learn minimal facts, and frankly, learn as we go! Instead, throughout this course we will be exploring the various topics outlined in the syllabus, and the overall study of "sexology". We will be reviewing the objective facts, while also exploring our subjective thoughts and feelings pertaining to them all. Please look at some of the topics we will be exploring together by reviewing the syllabus and the course itself. Without a doubt, you WILL find some of the topics as being quite interesting and liberating to finally discuss openly, and I can honestly say, we have a great deal of fun here. In fact, so many of my students have found this course to be quite liberating, validating, and perspective changing... finally having the opportunity to face, discuss, and exchange ideas pertaining to a significant part of humanity...our sexuality. As you are aware, there is one required text, "Our Sexuality". It is the most comprehensive and interesting text I have found to work with. I'm quite confident you will enjoy reviewing it throughout the coming weeks. In addition to the text, I have embedded a number of short articles, Ted talks, interviews and audio presentations. You will find that you are never stuck reading, reading, and more reading, as I purposely vary the course resources quite a bit. As you know, this entire course will take place online, and though we will never be in the same place at the same time...we WILL truly get to know each other as we learn about one of the most sensitive topics together...that which entails many of the topics and concepts related to the end of life. So...here we go!

Teaching Methods:

A weekly discussion forum assignment related to textbook content and/or other course resources which will require the submission of an original post, as well as three responses to classmates' posts.

*Weekly lectures, reading assignments as well various videos and other postings related to the weekly topic.

*Short Essays

*4 Study Guide assignments related to course content.

*A final Oral Presentation on a topic of interest.

*Final Exam derived from Study Guide material.

Evaluation Criteria

Your work will be graded on the following components, all of which you will find more detail within the rubrics for each category of assignments:

*Quality of Information
*Quality of Effort
*Organization
*Grammer
*Writing Mechanics

The total grading system for each assignment category will be weighted as follows:

*Discussions forums: 20%, AND I take your original post, as well as your replies to others into consideration.
*Study Guides: 25%
*Essays/Journals: 25%
*Final Exam: 15%
*Final Presentation: 15%

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Missing & Late Work Policy

If you have fallen behind, please inform me of this as soon as you can, and if it is due to an extenuating circumstance, we can determine a plan for a late submission... with a deduction of at least 10 points. If you do not provide prior notice pertaining to this, or if it becomes habitual, I will not accept your late submission. Though I am quite fair, I do have expectations that we are ALL on the same timeframe from week to week.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity