Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America

About This Event

In her new book Fierce Desires, Rebecca L. Davis charts the shifting and multiple roles that sex and sexuality have played in our societies and identities over more than 400 years. Drawing on a wealth of sources, Davis’s rigorous research and wide scope provides the oft-missing historical depth needed to understand how and why sexuality and gender have taken center stage in some of today’s most polarizing debates. Featuring stories across a wide spectrum of the United States, Davis demonstrates how fiercely we have valued our desires, and how far we are willing to go to defend them.

Biography:

Rebecca L. Davis is the Miller Family Early Career Professor of History and an associate professor of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Delaware. She is a historian of marriage, religion, sexuality, and politics in the United States. In addition to Fierce Desires, she is author of Public Confessions: The Religious Conversions that Changed American Politics and More Perfect Unions: The American Search for Marital Bliss, and the co-editor of Heterosexual Histories. She is also a podcast host and producer and writes the newsletter Carnal Knowledge, which explains the history behind today’s headlines about gender, sexuality, and American politics. Learn more at rebeccaldavis.com.

Note: Lectures will have live captioning

This lecture is part of the History Forum series. Visit The History Forum landing page for more information.