Queer Stuff [6-weeks, $200 Suggested]
Instructor: Stillman | Sundays November 7-December 12 | 5:00-7:00 PM ET
Can “stuff” be queer? Bodies? Toys? Hormones? And if “stuff” can’t be queer, then what would “queer” be? Spiritual? Sensational? Processual? In this class we’re going to spend some time thinking seriously—and playfully—about queer stuff. Part of that is going to mean some of the obvious things, like sex toys, zines, clothes, rainbow flags and fanny packs. But we’ll also talk about the act of being queer, in all the millions of ways that happens, and think about how we do queerness in the material world, as a series of patterns, reiterations, speech acts, sex acts, performances, and all kinds of other things. We’ll read a little theory, like Judith Butler’s seminal accounts of how gender’s a drag and bodies matter, and we’ll recite some erotically charged poetry. We’ll check out illustrated sex toy reviews and a short story or two, watch a few drag shows and listen to a little hip-hop; we’ll do a not insignificant amount of astrology, and we’ll definitely spend some time dismantling trans exclusionary radical feminism. Through it all we’re going to come back again and again to a few important questions. What makes stuff queer? What makes a body non-binary? Is there such thing as a queer science? Does our queerness exist in our souls? Our brains? Our relationships? Our stuff? Join us for six weeks of rolling around in the messy materiality of queer life as it relates to gender, sexuality, and more or less everything else!
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.