Masochism: Freud, Deleuze, Sacher-Masoch [Durham, NC]

from $25.00

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $300 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.

We all submit to some things, but do we enjoy our submission? What exactly is masochism? In common parlance, we use the term to describe someone who’s a glutton for punishment. Or we associate it with the culture of BDSM. But beyond colloquialism and contemporary kink, masochism has a distinct history in literature, philosophy, and psychology. Over the course of four weeks, we’ll read Venus in Furs (1870), the landmark novel by masochism’s namesake, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, along with psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud’s “The Economic Problem of Masochism” (1924) and Gilles Deleuze’s philosophical treatise, Masochism: Coldness and Cruelty (1967). For these thinkers, masochism operates as a quantitative problem and literary style, both of which force us to rethink desire, pleasure, history, and the contract form. Together we’ll ask: what kind of calculus leads some people to seek suffering? What kinds of agreements–from contracts to consent–can we make regarding power? What meaning do contracts have when the parties have different access to power? Can we agree to our own subjugation? And what about history? Is it a neutral description of the past, or a persuasive erotic promise of things to come? The readings for this class are challenging, the discussion will be rigorous, and everything will be delicious.

You are encouraged to read the short novel Venus in Furs in advance for discussion in the second week of class. You can expect to read 20-30 pages of theory per class session.

—

The Fine Print:

Gift certificates may only be redeemed at the full tuition tier.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION

Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.

The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.

The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.

All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.

Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.

Sliding-Scale Tuition:

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $300 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.

We all submit to some things, but do we enjoy our submission? What exactly is masochism? In common parlance, we use the term to describe someone who’s a glutton for punishment. Or we associate it with the culture of BDSM. But beyond colloquialism and contemporary kink, masochism has a distinct history in literature, philosophy, and psychology. Over the course of four weeks, we’ll read Venus in Furs (1870), the landmark novel by masochism’s namesake, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, along with psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud’s “The Economic Problem of Masochism” (1924) and Gilles Deleuze’s philosophical treatise, Masochism: Coldness and Cruelty (1967). For these thinkers, masochism operates as a quantitative problem and literary style, both of which force us to rethink desire, pleasure, history, and the contract form. Together we’ll ask: what kind of calculus leads some people to seek suffering? What kinds of agreements–from contracts to consent–can we make regarding power? What meaning do contracts have when the parties have different access to power? Can we agree to our own subjugation? And what about history? Is it a neutral description of the past, or a persuasive erotic promise of things to come? The readings for this class are challenging, the discussion will be rigorous, and everything will be delicious.

You are encouraged to read the short novel Venus in Furs in advance for discussion in the second week of class. You can expect to read 20-30 pages of theory per class session.

—

The Fine Print:

Gift certificates may only be redeemed at the full tuition tier.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION

Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.

The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.

The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.

All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.

Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.