Architectures of Thought: Theories of Space and Imagination [4-weeks, $200 Suggested]
Instructor: Andrews | Tuesdays January 4-25 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET
Why do so many people dream of hidden rooms and secret passageways? (Freud) Do physical enclosures like fences and walls engender concepts like private property or freedom? (Marx) Is the family house really a privileged metaphor for mapping imagination? (Bachelard) Or is the fantasy that we all live in houses–as opposed to, say, apartments or being unhoused–already a privilege? (Cisneros) Can temporary spaces like waiting rooms and bus stations reconfigure our value systems for a fugitive existence? (Burroughs) And in the end, can fantasy be more powerful than enclosure; can fantasy in the hold be the very grounds of our freedom? (Moten) In this course, we’ll try to assess what exactly imagination is, and try to understand why so many theorists turn to histories, metaphors, and explanations grounded in the built environment. We’ll investigate what is made possible–but also, what is left out–by an architectural understanding of the imagination. In each of the four weeks, we will cover a different kind of structure–the enclosure, the house, the hold, and the city–and consider how philosophers have mobilized each to explain what thought is, and perhaps more importantly, how new thoughts and creative possibilities can emerge. Authors considered might include: Michel Foucault, Gaston Bachelard, Sandra Cisneros, Harriet Jacobs, William Burroughs, Timothy Murphy, Carl Jung, Ludwig Binswanger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Frank Wilderson, Fred Moten, Karl Marx, Silvia Federici, Liz Grosz, Christina Sharpe, Walter Benjamin, and Audre Lorde.
—
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.
Instructor: Andrews | Tuesdays January 4-25 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET
Why do so many people dream of hidden rooms and secret passageways? (Freud) Do physical enclosures like fences and walls engender concepts like private property or freedom? (Marx) Is the family house really a privileged metaphor for mapping imagination? (Bachelard) Or is the fantasy that we all live in houses–as opposed to, say, apartments or being unhoused–already a privilege? (Cisneros) Can temporary spaces like waiting rooms and bus stations reconfigure our value systems for a fugitive existence? (Burroughs) And in the end, can fantasy be more powerful than enclosure; can fantasy in the hold be the very grounds of our freedom? (Moten) In this course, we’ll try to assess what exactly imagination is, and try to understand why so many theorists turn to histories, metaphors, and explanations grounded in the built environment. We’ll investigate what is made possible–but also, what is left out–by an architectural understanding of the imagination. In each of the four weeks, we will cover a different kind of structure–the enclosure, the house, the hold, and the city–and consider how philosophers have mobilized each to explain what thought is, and perhaps more importantly, how new thoughts and creative possibilities can emerge. Authors considered might include: Michel Foucault, Gaston Bachelard, Sandra Cisneros, Harriet Jacobs, William Burroughs, Timothy Murphy, Carl Jung, Ludwig Binswanger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Frank Wilderson, Fred Moten, Karl Marx, Silvia Federici, Liz Grosz, Christina Sharpe, Walter Benjamin, and Audre Lorde.
—
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.
Instructor: Andrews | Tuesdays January 4-25 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET
Why do so many people dream of hidden rooms and secret passageways? (Freud) Do physical enclosures like fences and walls engender concepts like private property or freedom? (Marx) Is the family house really a privileged metaphor for mapping imagination? (Bachelard) Or is the fantasy that we all live in houses–as opposed to, say, apartments or being unhoused–already a privilege? (Cisneros) Can temporary spaces like waiting rooms and bus stations reconfigure our value systems for a fugitive existence? (Burroughs) And in the end, can fantasy be more powerful than enclosure; can fantasy in the hold be the very grounds of our freedom? (Moten) In this course, we’ll try to assess what exactly imagination is, and try to understand why so many theorists turn to histories, metaphors, and explanations grounded in the built environment. We’ll investigate what is made possible–but also, what is left out–by an architectural understanding of the imagination. In each of the four weeks, we will cover a different kind of structure–the enclosure, the house, the hold, and the city–and consider how philosophers have mobilized each to explain what thought is, and perhaps more importantly, how new thoughts and creative possibilities can emerge. Authors considered might include: Michel Foucault, Gaston Bachelard, Sandra Cisneros, Harriet Jacobs, William Burroughs, Timothy Murphy, Carl Jung, Ludwig Binswanger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Frank Wilderson, Fred Moten, Karl Marx, Silvia Federici, Liz Grosz, Christina Sharpe, Walter Benjamin, and Audre Lorde.
—
We depend on a mix of direct student donations and supplemental donations to make all classes pay-what-you-can. Please pick the pricing tier that corresponds with your needs and that you are able to pay now. If you would like to pay in installments, make your first payment now and make a note on your check-out form. If you would like to donate more later in the term, you can always come back and use the “Make a One Time Donation” button! To use a full scholarship, just pick the $3 tier to cover site/processor fees.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, we will work with you to reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.