Hysteria: Writing Identity and Emotions IN-PERSON [6-weeks, $180 Suggested]

Instructor: Andrews | Thursdays July 15-August 19 | 8:00-10:00 PM ET

“Hysteria” was once a medical condition primarily diagnosed in women that—like the more common use of the term—was characterized by an overabundance or misplacing of emotions. Although the diagnostic category was declassified in 1980, it is no secret that folks bearing identities marked through race, class, gender, disability, and sexuality are often dismissed as “too much,” “too loud,” “too emotional,” or pathologized as “excessive.” But what if we consider excess to be an inescapable social reality for folks who have historically been confined to boxes that are too small; people constructed as objects to be ‘seen and not heard’ or to work ‘out of sight, out of mind’? In this course, we’ll track the diagnostic history of hysteria, and then read writers who have embraced emotional excess and “bad” emotions to critique our social and political reality. Then we’ll claim space—emotionally, physically, intellectually—in the world through our own writing. Readings might include work by: Sigmund Freud, William James, Gertrude Stein, Zora Neale Hurston, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Gayl Jones, La Marr Jurelle Bruce, Sarah Cervenak, Fred Moten, Emily Dickinson, Frank Bidart, Ann Cvetkovitch, Morgan Parker, and Michel Foucault. Each class session will have a writing component, and the final two classes will be dedicated to workshopping our own hysterical writing.

This class is offered in 2 sections: In person (limited to 8 people) in downtown Durham, NC, and Online. Sign up here for the IN-PERSON CLASS. Back room, Arcana: 331 W Main St. (entrance in rear).

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.