Minor in Sexuality introduced next fall

Concordia students can now explore the roots of their raging hormones for academic credit. The Faculties of Arts and Science and Fine Arts have introduced an Interdisciplinary Minor in Sexuality.

"It's pretty exploratory at this point," said Professor Tom Waugh, who is the program director. He explained that the minor was created in response to an inquiry by the Concordia Council on Student Life (CCSL) into the status of gay and lesbian life at the university. "There was a recommendation about how there should be a curriculum response to the needs of lesbian and gay students," he said.

However, the program is not tailored to a specific group. "A committee was struck to create a program that would welcome students interested in queer studies as well as sexuality across the board."

The 27-credit minor, starting next September, is unrelated to the "clusters" that were introduced into the curriculum last year. The minor is a combination of existing courses, such as Sexuality in the History of Religion, HIV/AIDS: Cultural, Social and Scientific Aspects of the Pandemic, and two new courses, Issues in Sexuality Research and Introduction to Queer Theory.

The program's objective in combining courses from widely varying disciplines is to "investigate empirical, theoretical and creative aspects of sexuality." Waugh said he would eventually like to see a Major in Sexuality, but resources for new program development are scarce right now.

- Nadine Ishak

Gay lit Concordia Libraries has a new collection of gay and lesbian literature, including 19th- and 20th-century American, British, English-Canadian, French-Canadian and some European materials. Most of the collection is 20th-century fiction and poetry, with some books about film and fine arts. Many of the books are first editions, and some include original dust jackets. There are selected issues of gay and lesbian periodicals, as well as general periodicals with gay and lesbian content. The nearly 2,000 titles are fully catalogued in CLUES. In addition, a listing of the entire collection is accessible by searching under K > Concordia Unique Collections, using the phrase "Gay and Lesbian Literature Collection."