Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - POL 316 B200

Sex, Love, and Politics (4)

Class Number: 6501

Delivery Method: Blended

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: Fri, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: TBA, TBA
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    POL 210 or permission of the department.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores the political dimensions of sex, sexuality, and love. Students will read academic materials on eros and philia, repressive hypothesis, compulsory heterosexuality, and power and patriarchy, and focus on contemporary policy debates, including same sex marriages, gender expression, polygamy, pornography, prostitution, and sexual violence (especially on university campuses). Students with credit for POL 419 Selected Topics in Political Theory II under the title Sex, Love, and Politics may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

Course Description:

This course explores the roles of sex and love in political life, how they are shaped by politics, and how they shape politics. Students will examine, discuss, and write about a selection of themes related to, for example, sex, love, and knowledge, sex and citizenship, sex and disability, love in contexts of racism, dispossession, and colonialism, the political control of sexual practices, sexuality, and gender, and love as a key to ending all forms of oppression.

Course Organization:

This is a blended course. Students are expected to participate in weekly seminars (approx. 110 minutes) and on-line activities (approx. 60 mins.), in addition to regular course readings and assignments. Most seminars will be in-person, but several will be held via Zoom. The dates for in-person and Zoom seminars will be announced at the beginning of term.

Grading

  • Participation (in seminars and in check-ins) 25%
  • Short Narration (audio recorded) 25%
  • Reading Comprehension Assignments (written in seminar) 50%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

  • A. Andrews, A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability (Limerence Press, 2020).
  • bell hooks, All About Love (New York: Harper Collins, 2018).
  • David Chariandy, I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You (Penguin Random House McClelland & Stewart, 2018).
  • Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg, A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities (Limerence Press, 2019).
  • Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff, trans., Plato: Symposium (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1989).
  • Leanne Simpson, Islands of Decolonial Love (Winnipeg: ARP Books, 2015).

These texts are available in the library, on reserve, and/or in the bookstore (and some maybe available second hand or in PDF online).

All other required readings will be in Canvas or available otherwise on-line.


Department Undergraduate Notes:

The Department of Political Science strictly enforces a policy on plagiarism.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.