Reimagining Intimacy [6-weeks, $200 Suggested]
Instructor: Stillman | Sundays September 12-October 17 | 5:00-7:00 PM ET
Is the post-quarantine wave of casual sex real? Bars are packed and waxing studios have never been busier, but psychologists are reporting that when erstwhile strangers finally get together, touch and conversation, and not sex, are what they find they need. Why then is sexual desire the only way we seem to be able to explain our loneliness? And if intimacy is what we’re after, why is coupling off the only way we seem to be able to imagine it? To be in love: to be with someone who is your best friend, but also your favorite lover; a supportive listener, but not an emotional drain; a partner in crime, but one you could open a bank account with, maybe even have a baby with—all in just one person. Unlikely as it sounds, most of us seem to rank romantic love, and its traditional consequence, the biological family, among the basic features of a livable life. Few of us can imagine intimacy in any other form. But shouldn’t we? This course is about imaging new forms of kinship, some of which include sex and sexuality, but many of which don’t, that seem so urgently needed in the wake of a quarantine that many of us are still experiencing. We’ll read a mix of thinkers from philosophers like Michel Foucault and bell hooks to writers like Angela Chen and Roxane Gay, but mostly we’ll be talking together, forming a little intellectual community of our own, and reimagining intimacy.
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.