Princeton University’s Gender and Sexuality Studies (GSS) program is set to offer a series of classes on an array of engaging and thought-provoking topics, including “sex work” and “queer spaces,” during its upcoming spring semester.

This initiative will also incorporate additional themes such as “erotic dance,” “pornography,” and various other relevant subjects, as detailed in the university’s online course listing.

According to a Campus Reform report published on Tuesday, the prestigious Ivy League institution will provide a total of five courses that prominently feature the word “queer” in their descriptions. These courses are titled “Love: Anthropological Explorations,” “Queer Spaces in the World,” “Power, Profit and Pleasure: Sex Workers and Sex Work,” “Disability and the Politics of Life,” and “The Poetics of Memory: Fragility and Liberation.”

Notably, the university’s course specifically dedicated to the subject of sex work appears to delve deeply into the stigmatization, the controversies surrounding this subject, as well as the intricate power dynamics and societal expectations that play a significant role in shaping public perceptions.

“Why does sex work raise some of the most fascinating, controversial and often taboo questions of our time? The course explores the intricate lives and intimate narratives of sex workers from the perspective of sex workers themselves, as they engage in myriad varieties of global sex work: pornography, prostitution, erotic dance, escorting, street work, camming, commercial fetishism, and sex tourism,” the course description reads in part.

The program’s “queer spaces” course similarly analyzes institutional and historical power dynamics through the lenses of gender-related theories. 

The course description poses questions like “How do sources determine the histories we can tell about architecture, urban space, and the agents that enliven it?

How can we address the missing stories and clear acts of erasure found in archives? How can feminist, gender, queer, and trans theory guide us in writing architectural histories that focus on diversity and fairness? What alternative approaches, besides traditional architectural studies, can we use to reveal the histories of groups and institutions that have challenged dominant powers and their ways of knowing?

Reading lists of materials that will be incorporated into coursework were included on the webpage containing information for each class.

Other universities across the U.S. have similarly offered courses related to queer studies. The University of Chicago, for example, posed the question “is God queer?” while previewing a “Queering God” course last year.

As adult work enters higher education the question must be posed, will more knowledge about our industry lead to less stigma?