Online Course BECOMING WEIRD, BECOMING WILD: From Feminist Hybridity to Divine Monster by Jasmine Reimer

“Through four weekly sessions, Reimer will trace the origins of feminist hybrid symbols from Neolithic goddess mythology to 19th century grotesque murals, to contemporary theories of The Weird and the monster.

As concepts, the hybrid and the monster are symbols of resistance – in contrast to our ideas of perfection, they exist in a state of constant becoming, never finite or complete. As symbols of transformation and change, the hybrid-monster body exhibits relational, material, and spiritual unbounded-ness. Situated outside of normative language, within an incoherent embodied experience, they confront us with what we believe is impossible, challenging restrictive and damaging ideas imposed upon us by capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism. Contemplating the hybrid-monster as a model for change, we will think beyond and through anthropocentric systems and ideologies toward a new and weird divine – towards what Reimer calls “re-monstering”. 

Participants will have the opportunity to work with experimental drawing methods, writing prompts, individual journaling exercises, readings and discussions. Bridging research and artistic practice, critical discussion, feminist and art history, each session will build upon the former with the goal of dismantling preconceived ideas about socio-political classifications, binaries, and systems. The aim of the course is to restructure ideas related to bodies and identities as they exist within current cultural-political myths and visual representation. These observations can be applied to writing, visual art, curatorial, research and/or other creative projects.” (Text & image by courtesy of Jasmine Reimer)