Area University to Offer 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Class in 2013

Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James' best selling trilogy, can be found on countless Kindles, Nooks and nightstands across the nation, and starting this spring, in American University's (AU) classrooms as well, states a story in the Eagle, AU's newspaper.

The American Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the university, located just across the Maryland boundary in Washington, will offer the undergraduate course.

The course description promises to explore the "interplay of sexuality, health, public relations and marketing," describing the topics to be studied as including "feminism, addiction, social media marketing and sexual expression versus sexual repression."

The course will be taught by Professor Stef Woods, who pens the D.C.-based blog City Girl that seeks to "Educate. Advocate. Titillate," according to the site. Woods told the Eagle that the trilogy of novels noted for their explicit sexuality has "opened up dialogue about previously uncomfortable topics."

Sarah Voelker, a student quoted in the article, said the books are not "an accurate representation of American sexual culture," but Woods said that the trilogy is unequaled in its transformation of American culture.

The AU website  features a full course description.