Saying that pornography is “as American as apple pie,” a private liberal arts college located in Salt Lake City now faces a public backlash over summer classes in adult entertainment and digital culture.
Starting in May, Westminster College will offer three new elective courses—FILM*3000 Porn, GNDR*3000 Porn, and LMW*3000 Porn. Each provides two credits toward graduation upon successful completion.
“Hardcore pornography is as American as apple pie and more popular than Sunday night football,” according to the course description. “Our approach to this billion-dollar industry is 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.”
‘No Social Value’ In Porn
In response, Quincy Azimi-Tabrizi, vice president of outreach and events for the Brigham Young University College Republicans, has started a petition at change.org that has garnered nearly 2,000 signatures to date. It calls upon Westminster College to remove the classes from the course list.“The Supreme Court has defined obscenity as ‘completely devoid of scientific, political, educational, or social value.’ We agree. Pornography is devoid of educational value and has no place in the classroom,” the petition states.
“In these classes, young students and teachers watch pornography together in a classroom [which] creates an unsafe environment for students and faculty and normalizes pornography in culture. These are not Utah values, and these classes have no part in the Utah education system.”
Challenging Content
“As part of this analysis, Westminster College, along with other institutions of higher learning across the country and the world, often explore challenging subject matter to understand their pervasiveness and impact further.“Descriptions of these courses, while alarming to some readers, help students decide if they wish to engage in [a] serious investigation of controversial subjects.”
The college added these courses would help students “think critically” about the influence of digital culture.
The Utah Coalition Against Pornography did not respond to a request for comment.
