Dreher, Yglesias, Kitroeff Discuss Dorm Sex And Its Implications in New Free Think University Course
Industry: Education
Conservatives, Liberals Debate a Good Thing Gone Wild
Washington D.C. (PRUnderground) February 12th, 2014
A new course experience from Free Think University titled “Is There Sex That is Not Good?” presents various schools of thought on why college campus life has become hyper-sexualized and the implications of it.
In the course, UVA Professor Vigen Guroian shares stories from his own experience as a college student. He argues that the climate in colleges today is causing women to be more vulnerable to sexual abuse and mistreatment by male colleagues. He says, “Since my student years, colleges have abandoned all the arrangements that society had once put in place to protect the ‘weaker sex’ so they could say ‘no’ and have a place to retreat if young men pressed them too far.”
Nobel Prize winner Victor Starling discovered through a study on the sexual behavior of cats that a strong social or “cultural” atmosphere could in time overwhelm the genetically determined responses of perfectly normal, healthy animals. Are there any parallels?
Nathan Harden, author of Sex and God at Yale, adds to the course by discussing a very controversial event at Yale called “Sex Week.” He concludes that when Yale lost its moral anchor in God, it lost its basis for morality. Harden adds, “Yale is not simply being permissive; it is pushing a specific sexual agenda.”
Author Rod Dreher of the John Templeton Foundation notes how our sexual culture is causing long-term effects in other areas of sexual immorality. Dreher quotes sociologist Philip Rieff, saying, “The death of a culture begins when its normative institutions fail to communicate ideals in ways that remain inwardly compelling.”
Economic journalist Matthew Yglesias formerly at the American Center for Progress presents an alternate view in the course explaining that times are changing. Young adults are settling down later in their twenties, which does not align well with romantic desires. “Young people should feel free to do what they want with their sex lives, but I think it’s the people who are following neo-traditional visions of dating and romance who are operating with bad information and are more likely in need of guidance.”
In an excerpt by NY Times blogger Natalie Kitroeff, Kitroeff points out that sexual freedom does not equate to sexual pleasure. Sexual exploits are less satisfying for women than for men. She writes that research shows that women are less fulfilled sexually through uncommitted sexual encounters than they are through serious relationships.
“No matter your perspective, it is important to hear both sides of an argument to form a well-reasoned response, including one’s views about sexual norms and practices,” noted co-founder Jim Van Eerden, “This course experience looks at the culture of dorm brothels and raises some very important questions and considerations.”
To access the full course, click here. For additional media information, please contact media@freethinku.com.
About Free Think University
Free Think University is where more than 30,000 free-thinking students have joined what Mortimer Adler called “The Great Conversation” – the dialogue of the ages about The Big Questions of our day, and where they participate in one of the fastest-growing independent scholarship funds in America. Submit questions for future courses to ideas@freethinku.com. For more information go to www.freethinku.com or follow @freethinku.
