'A profound effect on how I see myself and the world around me': what students found meaningful about taking an academic course intended to reduce campus sexual violence.

This article examines the development and student experiences of GESS 1900: Sex, Power, and Culture, a semester-long, credit-bearing academic course created at a Southern U.S. institution as a curricular intervention to address high rates of sexual violence on campus. Through qualitative analysis of final reflection papers from 62 first-year students, the study identified three main areas students found meaningful: diverse course content (notably intersectionality, the erotic, and sexual violence), the course's delivery (including open discussions and timing in the first semester), and the course's impact on students' knowledge, assumptions, personal transformation, and empowerment to act. The findings suggest that such courses can foster critical consciousness and motivate social action among students, though the authors note that academic courses should complement broader multi-level strategies to effectively reduce campus sexual violence.