Intendierte Lernergebnisse
By the end of the course, participants …* have an understanding the diversity of practices that constitute BDSM* have a critical understanding of how desire, social practices, communities, and societal power are interconnected as well as how different forms of power (specifically related to gender and race) influence each other* can identify and express different opinions (voiced in academic and non-academic forms) and bring them into dialogue* can identify and express themselves about power-related issues in both academic and non-academic contexts, including in their own lives
Lehrmethodik inkl. Einsatz von eLearning-Tools
My approach to teaching and learning is inspired by Black_queer_trans_feminist approaches to emancipatory learning spaces. I aim to foster opportunities for connecting academic perspectives to societal power relations and participants’ lived experiences. The methods I use are designed to support all participants in reflecting on the relevance of the academic topics we discuss to their/our own lives. These methods include conventional academic discussions, peer-teaching, and various ways of creatively engaging with the course topics.A learning space – even one that seeks to be ‘emancipatory’ – is not free from societal, institutional and interpersonal power relations. However, I work to foster an atmosphere for participants to feel safe to experience new ways of thinking/feeling, to dis-/agree, to ask questions, to make mistakes, and to offer their own opinions, and I invite all participants to also contribute towards that goal. Specifically, in addition to ‘atmospheric’ aspects such as addressing questions of how we can engage with each other and the course topics in respectful and less hierarchical ways, the grading system is designed to give you a degree of choice in how you engage with the course topics and you will never be required to take part in specific activities that we do as part of the course.
Inhalt/e
BDSM, short for Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, and Sadism & Masochism / Sadomasochism, denotes a number of sexual (or sexuality-related) practices that revolve around negotiated power exchange between actors, and/or the giving/receiving of pain by these actors. These practices include, for example, the use of handcuffs or ropes to reduce the bodily mobility of participants; whipping, spanking, and candle wax; as well as various forms of role play, from medical settings to reimaginations of slavery.There have been heated arguments around both political and individual aspects of BDSM practices and communities, including around mental health, morality, abuse/violence, and consent. Additionally, BDSM has been examined in terms of gender and racial politics as well as, more recently, from queer/trans and critical disability perspectives. In this course, we critically engage with these interrogations from multiple, sometimes contradictory perspectives, gaining a fuller understanding of the practices and politics of BDSM.Content note: As part of the course, we will touch on questions around consent and sexual violence. I will do my best to facilitate the creation of a ‘brave space’, and participants are always free to not engage in discussions, activities and sessions.
Literatur
* Barker, Meg, and Darren Langdridge. 2005. “Special Issue: Contemporary Perspectives on Sadomasochism (S/M).” Lesbian & Gay Psychology Review 6 (3).* Bauer, Robin. 2014. Queer BDSM Intimacies: Critical Consent and Pushing Boundaries.* Chancer, Lynn S. 1992. Sadomasochism in Everyday Life: The Dynamics of Power and Powerlessness. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.* Cruz, Ariane. 2016. The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography. New York: New York University Press.* Deller, Ruth A., Sarah Harman, and Bethan Jones. 2013. Special Issue: Reading the Fifty Shades Phenomenon. Sexualities 16 (8).* Johnson, Paul. 2008. ‘Rude Boys’: The Homosexual Eroticization of Class. Sociology 42 (1): 65–82.* Langdridge, Darren, and Meg Barker, eds. 2007. Safe, Sane and Consensual: Contemporary Perspectives on Sadomasochism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.* Linden, Robin Ruth, Darlene R. Pagano, Diana E.H. Russell, and Susan Leigh Star, eds. 1982. Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis. East Palo Alto, CA: Frog in the Well.* Muñoz, José Esteban. 2013. “Race, Sex, and the Incommensurate: Gary Fisher with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick.” In Queer Futures: Reconsidering Ethics, Activism, and the Political, edited by Elahe Haschemi Yekani, Eveline Kilian, and Beatrice Michaelis, 103–15. Farnham and Burlington: Ashgate.* Tellier, Stephanie. 2017. “Advancing the Discourse: Disability and BDSM.” Sexuality and Disability 35 (4): 485–93.* Simula, Brandy L. 2012. “Does Bisexuality ‘Undo’ Gender? Gender, Sexuality, and Bisexual Behavior Among BDSM Participants.” Journal of Bisexuality 12 (4): 484–506.* Simula, Brandy L., ed., 2021. Special Issue: BDSM Studies. Sexualities, 24 (5–6).* Sheppard, Emma. 2019. “Chronic Pain as Fluid, BDSM as Control.” Disability Studies Quarterly 39 (2): 1–16.* Sloan, Lorca Jolene. 2015. “Ace of (BDSM) Clubs: Building Asexual Relationships through BDSM Practice.” Sexualities 18 (56): 548–63.* Weiss, Margot. 2011. Techniques of Pleasure: BDSM and the Circuits of Sexuality. Durham & London: Duke University Press.