related events and projects
There are a number of related events, projects and works that we would like to link here, since this discourse certainly does not exist in a vacuum.
Hedoné: Ethical Hedonism
“We are rooted in the philosophy of Ethical Hedonism. Based on the work of 18th-century moralist Nicolas Chamfort, philosopher Michel Onfray defined ethical hedonism as ‘an introspective attitude to life based on taking pleasure yourself and pleasing others, without harming yourself or anyone else.’“ . . . At Hedoné we agree with Epicurus´ proposition to lead a simple lifestyle and follow a self-sufficient path to happiness. Love and friendship play a fundamental role, as do stimulating meetings with like-minded thinkers. We want to identify natural pleasures and cultivate them in a safe space away from unnatural pleasures that only afford empty and fleeting happiness. We hope our attitude inspires people on their quest to free their souls from the conventions and prejudices that prevent them from being the happiest version of themselves.”
Decolonizing Love (Cultivating awareness of society’s impacts on your relationships)
“Who are you attracted to? Whom do fall in love with? Where do you look for love? The goal of this course is to start conversations about and work towards a deeper understanding of how our relationships are influenced by colonial forces. We will spend time thinking about how to resist those forces and live more intentionally within them.”
Critical Conviviality (conviviality studies)
". . . This introduction argues for critical conviviality—rich emotional and material interdependence where meaning and action is created through participation and reflection – as a political and rhetorical response to the conditions of literacy and pedagogy at our current, historical conjuncture, what I’ll refer to as neoliberalism. . . How to create a rich, emotional, material interdependence that as it is “attentive to questions of access, opportunities, power, and voice of different racial, sexual, class-based communities” (Mohanty 176) can be mobilized and can be linked to other struggles? How do we actively forge collectivities through the rhetorics of the everyday friendship, spaces of participatory conviviality, across borders that are local, military, policed, facilitated, and managed?"
The Center for Sex and Culture
1349 Mission St., San Francisco, CA
"The Mission of the Center for Sex & Culture is to provide judgment-free education, cultural events, a library/media archive, and other resources to audiences across the sexual and gender spectrum; and to research and disseminate factual information, framing and informing issues of public policy and public health. The Center for Sex & Culture aims to provide a community center for education, advocacy, research, and support to the widest range of people. We offer classes that run the gamut from informational to experiential. We host classes and cultural events as well as offer our space to other organizations and teachers as scheduling allows."
summer symposium // stimulus packages: politics, pleasure, aesthetics
Friday, June 17, 6:30–8:30pm & Saturday, June 18, 1–8pm
San Francisco Art Institute
'Stimulus Packages focuses on those modes of criticism, art, and life that oblige one to critically enjoy the world in ways that circumvent programs of conspicuous consumption and normative sexuality. It suggests that more repressed forms of criticality and artistic practice are doomed to fail those subjects whose pursuits of pleasure are inherently marginalized or legislated against. It also considers how critical hedonism might be particularly relevant in relation to the cultures of scarcity and austerity incurred by the recent global economic crisis—cultures which are presently compelling one to give-up on all sorts of frivolous social, aesthetic, and academic projects.' --SFAI website
Yale Research initiative on the history of sexualities
Yale University
'The Yale Research Initiative on the History of Sexualities is dedicated to fostering research and theoretical reflection on the history of sexualities, especially as they intersect with other axes of social difference and inequality. It promotes inquiry into lesbian, gay, and transgender history and the role of sexuality in the history of the self, culture, nation, and empire. Based in the Department of History, the Initiative sponsors lectures, workshops, symposia, and collaborative research. The faculty co-directors are George Chauncey and Joanne Meyerowitz.' --YRIHS website
Symposium // The Queerness of Home: Intimacy, Normativity, Domesticity
Thursday, October 2, 2014 - 5:00pm
Yale University
'Queer critiques of the same-sex marriage movement have called new attention to the normative effects of domesticity–its power as a site of cultural assimilation and intimate control. But investigations into past and present domestic practices also reveal the home’s startling potential for reinvention. Please join us as we investigate the meanings and contradictions of home: How do domestic spaces, practices, and discourses perpetuate cultural norms and boundaries? How do outsiders retake and remake the home to foster alternative modes of identity and intimacy?' --YRIHS website
journal // The Journal of the history of sexuality
University of Texas Press
'Established in 1990, The Journal of the History of Sexuality illuminates the history of sexuality in all its expressions, recognizing various differences of class, culture, gender, race, and sexual orientation. Spanning geographic and temporal boundaries, JHS provides a much-needed forum for historical, critical, and theoretical research in this field. Its cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary character brings together original articles and critical reviews from historians, social scientists, and humanities scholars worldwide.'
Pavini Moray
Emancipating Sexuality: Personal and Planetary Liberation through Pleasure
"When I can't stand it any longer, I blurt it out. 'I became sexually liberated.' And everyone nods and smiles, like they know exactly what I mean. And well, my friends are pretty amazing, so perhaps they do. But I start thinking, what about all the others? What about all the people out there like me who didn't/don't realize they can own their pleasure? None of us have managed to remain unaffected by the pathologized sexuality our culture teaches. So many of us have wounds, uptightness, fear, trauma, difficult or complex relationships with desire, or sexual problems. And yet our sexual energy is the most potent, creative energy we have! It IS the driving force in propagating our entire species, after all. What would happen if it were liberated? I believe in my core that each of us is worthy of ecstasy. That each of us can heal from whatever hand we've been dealt in our sexuality. That our bodies are capable of deeper pleasure. And I want this for each and every one of us."