Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams Reading Group [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $200 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Phillip Stillman | 3 Weeks | Sundays | June 2 - June 16 | 6:00 - 8:00 PM ET | IN PERSON, 719 N Mangum St., Durham, NC
Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams is one of the most influential texts ever published in a European language. This book–written by a sex-positive German Jew fated to flee Nazi oppression–argued that all humans are born genderfluid and pansexual, and introduced Western psychology to what he called “the unconscious.”
Do you believe that you have, or have ever had, desires of which you were not entirely aware? Do you think you’ve ever done anything for a reason you didn’t understand? Could there be anything about your wishes or fears that you don’t consciously know? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then your beliefs align, in one way or another, with Freud’s thinking around the unconscious.
For all the talk of Freud being “discredited” and all the power and prestige piled high on the altars of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and psychiatric medication, virtually all Westerners have encountered a version of personhood that Freud codified. And he codified it in this book.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t problematic, or that it isn’t full of all sorts of the kinds of oppressive crap that white cis dudes are always peddling. BUT, as a queer approaching 40, I’ve had to hone the skill of patching together a philosophy out of ideas and aesthetics looted from a “culture” that hates and fears me, and I invite you to try it out, too. This is a really powerful book. It just might change you on fundamental levels.
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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.