One college in the US has come under fire for offering a course on pornography during summer term and its listing has been shared widely on social media.

According to the course description, students will view pornographic movies and discuss “the sexualization of race, class and gender.” They will also investigate pornography as an experimental art form – something which the college website boasts is “as American as apple pie and more beloved than Sunday night football”.

As it can be difficult to ascertain exactly how many schools teach classes on pornography, but some could potentially use such instruction to address issues related to sexting. Keep in mind that sexual and relationships education policies vary state by state and are typically determined by school councils.

Fonte of Dalton believes it is necessary for educators, including her own, to discuss sex and pornography in the classroom. Any discussions must be age appropriate and do not include explicit descriptions of sexual acts or scenes. Students may find these images distressing; therefore it is important that details about school welfare counsellors and support organisations like Kids Helpline7 are made available.

Kevin Eames of Covenant College argues that pornography should be studied as part of an academic curriculum; his course, however, takes an explicit Christian worldview approach and allows students to investigate both its positive aspects as well as its harmful ones.