A new class being offered at Pasadena City College called “Navigating Pornography” allows students who can see we are already living in a sex dominated culture the ability to study and learn all about the topic in a professional and academic manor. However the class has already received a slew of controversy after inviting male porn star James Deen to speak to the students.

Course Professor Hugo Schwyzer has been defending his class and in a recent interview he stated:

“(The course) focuses on giving students tools to understand pornography as a historical and contemporary phenomenon. Students today live in a porn-saturated culture and very rarely get a chance to learn about it in a safe, non-judgmental, intellectually thoughtful way.”

Students do not watch porn in the classroom, instead, it gets assigned as homework where students watch it on their own time and record their observations in a journal. Other assignments consist of research papers and a final exam. He hope to maturely and academically answer questions like, “Why we love porn?” and “Why are some people are deeply troubled by it?”, while allowing people to make decisions about porn in their own lives, and how to have conversations about porn with others.

However, some other teachers find the course “absolutely appalling”. A colleague of Schwyzer’s has come out anonymously citing tension around the college campus due to a wave of national controversy on porn stars appearing as guest speakers for the school.

James Deen, the male porn star who’s slowly breaking into the mainstream, and also graduated from Pasadena City College was invited to give a public lecture in late February 2013, but university officials canceled the public lecture due to a lack of permits. Dr. Robert Bell, assistant superintendent of Academic and Student Affairs said in a press release:

“We support the instructor’s academic freedom within the classroom. The college’s concern is to schedule all public events according to procedures so we can insure public safety and security.”

In the same release, Dr. Mark Rocha, PCC superintendent-president stated:

“I want to make clear that Schwyzer is expressing his own personal opinions. In no way does he speak for the college or Board of Trustees.”

In an article posted the next month, Schwyzer wrote:

“In its official statement, the college explained that the cancellation of the public event was due to a lack of proper paperwork. Yet I filed the same forms for Deen that I’ve filed for countless other speakers over the years, including female porn stars.”

For those of you still wondering what exactly goes on inside a porn classroom can check out a mini feature video which shows classroom, teacher and students all partaking in what looks to be a mature and educational approach to sexuality.