Corso di laurea in DAMS
Discipline delle Arti, della Musica e dello Spettacolo

This course introduces students to the history of nonconforming sexuality in Italy, focusing particularly on the 1900s.

After exploring the meaning of concepts such as "sexuality," "sex," and "gender," the course will proceed thematically and chronologically.

This course will analyze the emergence of modern sexology, the "invention" of sexual identities, and the reconfiguration of gender and sexuality in the early years of the last century. It will then look at the ways in which fascist regimes - the Italian one in particular - aimed to reshape gender dynamics and sexual practices; analyze the ways in which sexuality was reorganized in the years following World War II; and conclude by trying to understand the achievements and limitations of the sexual "(r)evolution" of the 1960s and reflecting on the birth and development of the LGBTQIA+ movement in Italy.

Sexual issues are not phenomena on the margins of society. The history of sexuality is much more than the recollection and analysis of past practices, behaviors, and sexual identities. Sexuality, society, ideology and politics are inextricably interconnected.

At the end of the course, students should be able to critically frame the developments in the history of homosexuality, being able to identify and discuss its most significant moments.

In particular they will need to:

Understand the historical developments in the history of homosexuality ( and sexuality more generally) in Italy;

Understand how nonconforming sexuality is not a phenomenon on the margins of society, but a political-ideological issue that involves all of us;

Apply the socio-cultural development of sexual and gender categories to the social context;

Use tools acquired in class to observe and understand the society in which they live; 

Use what they have learned in different situations and for different purposes thanks to the skills acquired (active reading, critical sense, communication skills, argumentation skills)

There will be 16 meetings of 2 hours each, Monday through Wednesday (no class on Wednesday, May 1).

The first meeting will take place on Monday, April 28, 2025. The last meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2025.

During the first week we will explain what we mean by sex, sexuality and gender; we will ask if there is a history of sexuality; we will see what is the state of the history of homosexuality in Italy.

In the second week we will focus on the role of sexology in the 'invention' of sexual categories and discuss how new identities were constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We will then move on to analyse gender and sexuality in Weimar Germany, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

In the fourth week we will talk about Braibanti and Lavorini and discuss Stonewall and the creation of FUORI.

In the fifth week we will talk about the development of FUORI and the eighties.

We will conclude the course by focusing on HIV-AIDS in week six.

The course consists of 36 hours of frontal lectures. Class attendance is not mandatory although strongly recommended.

Students will be assessed through an oral discussion focusing on exam texts, material discussed in class during the hemisemester, and all material uploaded to Moodle. The discussion will last approximately 15 minutes. The grade will be given in thirtieths.

**For students not attending lectures**
Students who wish to take the exam without attending lectures will need to demonstrate that they have studied the exam texts, the material discussed during the lectures (material and slides will be made available), and lecture material uploaded on Moodle.

Students not attending lectures will also need to prepare, in addition to the compulsory texts, two texts of their choice.

Students disabilities, please review the University's support (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-condisabilita) and accommodation (https://www.unito.it/accoglienza-studenti-condisabilita-e-dsa) arrangements, and in particular the procedures required for exam support (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-e-studentesse-con-disabilita/supporto-studentie- student-con).