Course detail

Porn studies

FaVU-KPO-ZAcad. year: 2026/2027

The Porn Studies course examines materials that depict human sexuality. These materials are often evaluated on a scale of social acceptability. They range from unacceptable forms—which are subject to criminalization—through more consensually acceptable forms, to materials that border on artistic expression. These points of intersection and overlap are the course’s primary focus. The analysis of individual topics draws primarily on figures, works, and movements in the visual arts as a starting point, which then leads us to more general conclusions.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

3

Assignment to study programme types

Bachelor's

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

Familiarity with the form of thematic lectures.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The following requirements must be met to pass the exam:
  • Completion of a final project. The specific assignment is determined through a discussion held at the beginning of the course. This discussion is based on a presentation of student projects from previous years’ courses.
  • The final project always includes a creative component (video, graphic design, projects, etc.) and a written component of at least 2,000 characters.

Aims

Students will become familiar with the academic study of phenomena related to human sexuality and its representation. The course will provide a historical perspective and serve as an introduction to the basic methods of critical analysis of these social phenomena. The tension between artistic production and pornography serves as the starting point, from which students will explore broader phenomena such as the emergence of censorship, the phenomenon of culture wars, emancipation movements, and more. An essential part of the topic also includes current issues regarding the ethical framing of sexual relationships, as well as matters of health, care, consent, and sex education. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide students with insights that will help them understand the phenomena around which tensions may arise in society. The knowledge gained from the course can serve as a tool for breaking down barriers in individual creative expression, such as when working with intimate themes or nudity.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Brian McNair, Striptease Culture, Routledge 2002
Isabel Tangová, Pornografie – tajné dějiny civilizace, Bbart, Praha 2003
Journal PornStudies - https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rprn20
Kateřina Lišková, Hodné holky se dívají jinam, SLON, Brno 2009
Katharine Gates, Deviant Desire, Juno Books, New York 2000
Linda Williams, Hardcore, University of California Press, Berkley 1999
Linda Williamson, ed., Porn Studies, Duke University Press, Londýn 2004
Lynda Nead, Female Nude, Routledge, London 1992
Michel Foucault, Dějiny sexuality I., II., Herrmann, Praha 1999

Recommended reading

Annie Sprinkle, Post Porn Modernist, Torch Books, Amsterdam 1991
Blackledgeová, Catherine, Vagina, Triton, Praha 2005
Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, Juno Books, New York 2000
Bohuslav Brouk, Autosexualismus a psychoerotismus, Odeon, Praha 1992
Bohuslav Brouk, Lidská duše a sex, Odeon, Praha 1992
David Wood ed., Torture Garden, Creation Books, London 1996
Erotická Revue I.-III., Torst, Praha 2001
Hynek Záruba, Jošiwara, japonské město milování, Nakladatel Ladislav Šotek, Praha 1927
Laura Lederer, Take the Night Back, Bantam Books, 1982
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Venuša v kožuchu, Gilles Deleuze, Masoch a masochizmus, Vydavatelstvo PT, Bratislava 2002
Linda Kaufmann, Bad Girls & Sick Boys – Phantasies in Contemporary Art & Culture,
Lynda Nead, Female Nude, Routledge, London 1992
Lynne Segal, Mary McIntosh, Sex Exposed, Rutgers University Press, 1993
Martin Putna, Homosexualita v dějinách české kultury, Academia Praha
Naomi Wolf, Mýtus krásy, Aspekt, Bratislava 2000
Philips Rawson, Oriental Erotic Art, Gallery Books, New York 1981
Platon, Sympozion, Oikoymenh, Praha 2000
Robert Hans Van Gulik, Sexuální život ve staré Číně, Academia, Praha 2009
Roland Barthes, Světlá komora, Archa, Bratislava 1994
Rosalind Coward, Female Desire – Women´s Sexuality Today, Paladin, London 1984
Susan Grifftn, Pornography and Silence, Harper and Row, London 1982
Tana Modleski, Loving with Vengeance, Mass-Produced Fantasie for Women, Routledge, London 1982
Vilém Flusser, Za filosofií fotografie, Hynek, Praha 1994
Wilhelm Reich, Funkce orgasmu, Concordia, Praha 1993

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme VUM_B Bachelor's 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
    2 year of study, winter semester, elective
    3 year of study, winter semester, elective
    4 year of study, winter semester, elective
  • Programme BIT Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
  • Programme BIT Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

The course is structured around several clusters of thematic lessons. At the beginning of each course, after discussing it with the students, we will select a specific focus based on their current interests.
At least two lessons will remain open for other formats—such as screenings or guest speakers.
  1. What Are Porn Studies? – Introduction – the history of the field of Porn Studies, the history of the Porn Studies Course at FaVU, presentation of archival student works
  2. What, How, and When Is Something Obscene? – Theory and history of the concept of pornography and the term “pornographic,” connections to the development of censorship practices, the dependence of pornographic content on technical media and other conditions, the evolution of legal restrictions, and the current legislative situation in the Czech Republic
  3. How and Why to Undress Properly? – A series of lessons on the public presentation of human nudity, exploring it in terms of spiritual and political nudity, with examples of developments in artistic, religious, and activist practices
  4. The Madness of Visibility – a series of lessons on the technical image (photography, film, video) and its pornographic manipulation
  5. Fatigue with Humanity – a series of lessons on psychological and psychoanalytic perspectives, norms and paraphilias, interspecies relationships, and ecosexuality
  6. Ars Erotica versus Scientia Sexualis – a series of lessons on non-European concepts of human sexuality
  7. Porn Studies and Contemporary Society – a series of lectures focused on current social issues related to the presentation of sexuality – sex education in schools, the current situation of sex workers, support organizations, and legislative debates – this section is typically based on presentations by guest speakers