Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, has received harsh criticism from local residents after announcing that one of its upcoming courses would focus on pornography.
The class, titled Film 3000: Porn, is being included in the May summer term, which reportedly offers students unorthodox courses each year.
In the course description, the elective will study hardcore pornography and “discuss the sexualization of race, class, and gender and as an experimental, radical art form.”
“Our approach to this billion-dollar industry is as both a cultural phenomenon that reflects and reinforces sexual inequalities (but holds the potential to challenge sexual and gender norms) and as an art form that requires serious contemplation,” the description reads.
A private college just down the road from my alma mater (University of Utah), @WestminsterSLC is offering a class that will show pornographic films.https://t.co/G1JlDzXgyD
I thought the condom fashion show one of the student clubs had in 2018 was bad. https://t.co/dbvhzuUTqR pic.twitter.com/Y67BAQfoYn
— Frances (Baldwin) Floresca (@francesanneflo) April 19, 2022
The class will be offered from May 9 to June 4 and is not a requirement for Westminster students.
Controversy
The college also disclosed that students will watch pornographic films together in class and discuss their implications. A university spokesperson said that students will learn about the impact of porn on American society through these viewings.
“As part of this analysis, Westminster College and universities across the county often examine potentially offensive topics like pornography to further understand their pervasiveness and impact,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“This course will help students learn how to think critically about the influence of digital media culture,” the statement added.
However, some local residents aren’t on board with the idea. There has been an online petition to remove the course from the school’s listing since “pornography is devoid of educational value and has no place in the classroom.”
“This is not education. It makes me sick that something like this is offered. I’m so disappointed that anything like this would be offered at an educational institution,” social media user Minta Valentine said in the petition’s comments section.