Sexual desire—ancient Greek eros—is fundamental to the philosophical dialogues of Plato and the lyric poetry of Sappho, as well as to Michel Foucault’s genealogy of the modern self. Both Plato and Sappho begin with contemporary ideas of eros as madness, even as they also argue for the centrality of eros to new forms of self-knowledge and self-making; Foucault, too, moved from studies of madness to studies of sexuality.
In our course we will read three dialogues of Plato—Lysis, Symposium, and Phaedrus—alongside the lyric poetry of Sappho.
Topics for discussion will include:
There *is* no physical Brooklyn Institute. We hold our classes all over (thus far) Brooklyn and Manhattan, in alternative spaces ranging from the back rooms of bars to bookstores to spaces in cultural centers, including the Center for Jewish History, the Goethe-Institut, and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. We can (and do) turn any space into a classroom. You will be notified of the exact location when you register for a class.
In our course we will read three dialogues of Plato—Lysis, Symposium, and Phaedrus—alongside the lyric poetry of Sappho.
Topics for discussion will include:
- Same-sex desire in antiquity
- Erotic reciprocity
- Eros and education
- Sublimation (whether philosophical or poetic)
- Justice of Socrates and of Aphrodite.
There *is* no physical Brooklyn Institute. We hold our classes all over (thus far) Brooklyn and Manhattan, in alternative spaces ranging from the back rooms of bars to bookstores to spaces in cultural centers, including the Center for Jewish History, the Goethe-Institut, and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. We can (and do) turn any space into a classroom. You will be notified of the exact location when you register for a class.
