VCU's Crossing Boundaries lecture series to explore tension in American marriages

By A. Nikki Ahmadi-Nabi
University News Services

Virginia Commonwealth University's School of World Studies will present "Love, Sex and Monogamy in Modern American Marriages" as a part of its Crossing Boundaries lecture series.

Free and open to the public, the event will take place Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in the VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave.

The lecture will focus on the tension between self-fulfillment and commitment in American ideals of love and marriage and the way that this tension plays out through negotiations of sexual exclusivity. The presentation will feature Katherine Frank, who has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Duke University.

Frank, a former exotic dancer, will discuss how she came to her interest in monogamy while studying strip club regulars. She also will introduce her current esearch on the boundaries of monogamy for contemporary couples.

The Crossing Boundaries series is a yearlong program of speakers, performances and events that explore how social, personal and religious boundaries are transcended. The series is sponsored by VCU's School of World Studies and the VCU Honors Program. It is underwritten by a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities, which supports research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.

For more information, call 827-3402 or visit http://www.has.vcu.edu/CB/#.