Friends, I’m so excited to share with you the new free event series featuring me guiding you through James Joyce’s Ulysses, hosted by MoLI, the Museum of Literature Ireland here in Dublin.
“Always wanted to read Ulysses but were too afraid to start? Ulysses may be one of the most famous and influential novels ever published, but how many have actually read it? Ulysses – for the Rest of Us! is a new free public book club at MoLI that will demystify this extraordinary 100 year-old novel, and offer fresh and easy routes into James Joyce’s vast, elaborate and often hilarious masterpiece for every reader. This summer, join your guide –author, activist and podcast host Conner Habib – as he unlocks Ulysses, episode by episode, from Stephen Dedalus’s breakfast in Sandycove through to Molly Bloom’s famous closing monologue.
“This is the year that you finish Ulysses! Starting with an online interview with Conner at 1PM (Dublin time) this Bloomsday, 16 June, Ulysses for the Rest of Us will continue fortnightly on Thursday evenings over Zoom until September. In addition to Conner Habib’s fun and accessible introductions to each episode, book club members will be able to discuss the book whilst having access to a wealth of additional resources and recommended reading lists. Sign up for free now!”
Obviously, it’s a dream to be hosting a Ulysses event in Ireland. But more than that, this is the event for Ulysses in Ireland this year. It’s being promoted by the Irish tourism board, featuring great Irish guests, and on offer to the entire nation.
I’ll be on a panel discussing sex work as anti-work politics as part of Seattle’s Red May festival. I’ll be in discussion with AEWCH guests Kathi Weeks and Heather Berg, as well as femi babylon and Cassandra Troyan!
Have you been wanting to read Ulysses, but found yourself daunted by its reputation?
Join Conner Habib – author, countercultural activist, and host of Against Everyone with Conner Habib (not to mention former college English and literature instructor) – as he guides you through this amazing book, step-by-step, over six weeks.
James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses is known equally as the best novel ever written and one so difficult that it gives of kryptonite-like vibes to readers. But the reward of reading this dizzying, funny, obscene, and beautiful novel is more than worth the challenge. Now’s your opportunity to do it!
Here’s how the course works:
• You sign up and on June 2, you get an intro video. This tells you everything you need to start your journey reading Ulysseswith me, including some background on Joyce and Ulysses, tips on what to do on if and when the going gets rough for you, optional supplemental texts to help you through, and more.
• Then on June 16we begin reading Ulysses together. June 16 is the day the events of the novel take place, so there will be a nice little synchrony there. I’ll tell you hw much to read over the week
• On that day, and every Saturday for six weeks, you’ll get a brief video from me helping you along the way. My own thoughts, what excites me about the assigned reading, some explanations about what to watch out for as you read, and a break down of what’s going on. I’ll also include any links I think might be useful or of interest.
• On July 28, we’ll meet in a live streaming online webinar to discuss the book. I’ll talk about it a little bit, and we’ll discuss as a group via streaming and written Q&A.
STANDARD TICKET: You get: All seven videos for the duration of the course and 90 days after the course ends • Access to the online webinar at the end. • Access to a recording of the the webinar for 90 days after the course ends. • A Ulysses-related reading list from Conner Habib. PRICE: $30
BONUS TICKET: You get: Everything above PLUS a unique and personalized Finnegan’s Wake bibliomantic video from me. You send me a life question you have, and I answered it by doing bibliomncy with Joyce’s final novel, Finnegan’s Wake. For entertainment purposes only, of course. PRICE: $40
GOLD TICKET: LIMITED QUANTITIES! You get: Everything at the Bonus and Standard level PLUS a signed line drawing of Joyce or something in Ulysses from me, sent to you. I’m no great artist, but my drawing will commemorate your passage through the challenging, dangerous, and beautiful world of Ulysses. PRICE: $75
PATREON HONOR SYSTEM OPTION: If you want, you can also get the bonus ticket level by signing up for my patreon at the $20 level or higher. Your card will be charged on the 1st of the month, and I ask that you stay on board for at least two months. It’s the honor system, so pelase stay true to your word, my friend! The cool thing about this option is that you also get all the other stuff my patreon offers: mini-epsiodes of my show, membership in the Conner Habib BookClub,access to the Against Everyone with Conner Habib private instagram, and more. To choose the patreon option, click here, and when you sign up, send me a patreon message with the word ReJoyce in it. If you want the gold level ticket and are choosing the patreon option, no problem, just contact me via email – againsteveryonewithconnerhabib at gmail – and we’ll work it out.
Whatever ticket level you choose, you’ll get the preparatory video – as well as any other info you need (ie to get your video or drawing, etc.) – on June 2nd. If you sign up after June 2nd, you’ll get everything within 48 hours of signing up.
I’ve got a pop-up live online course Sunday 12/18!
My last pop up course was on writing, this one’s on sex and culture.
While my longer online lectures/courses are very in-depth, these pop up lectures are aimed at accessibility for everyone. Accessibility in content: giving you talking points and things to think about after the lecture is over. Financial accessibility: each pop up always has a donation option so people can buy a standard ticket, pay whatever they can afford, or donate even more if they like what I’m doing. Also accessibility for me as the creator of the course – I think of the material and the course is set for just a week out, rather than all the planning/promotion that goes into my other courses.
This time, it’s Good Sex, Better World: 8 Ways Your View on Sex Can Improve the World, followed by a Q&A! Sign up here and/or read the description below.
If you ever want to know how somebody feels about freedom, start talking about sex.
Talking about sex and sexuality pushes people to the limits of their moral, ethical, and political frameworks because it’s all so highly individualized. What one person enjoys sexually – an act, a type of person, a set of features – is unintelligible to another.
For instance, have you ever been attracted to someone and pointed him or her out to a friend, only to have your friend make a repulsed sound?
Him? your friend says, incredulously. The one with the belly and big ears?
Meanwhile, you can’t take your eyes off of him as he walks by, talking on his phone.
Or maybe you like a sexual act or type that you fear is “abnormal.” You like fat men in their fifties, you like almost non-existent breasts, you like anal sex, you like sex with people dressed as stuffed animals, you like being urinated on, you like wearing a leather mask shaped like a pony’s head, you like dressing like a baby, you like…
The list goes on and on. It starts with what features you’re attracted to and ends with how you live your life…and how you think others should live theirs.
At some point or another, everyone comes across a sexual act or attraction that makes them cringe. How we think about and deal with that offense will tell us how deeply our principles about freedom go.
That’s why sex – so individualized, so active and reactive – is the perfect sphere for political and cultural progress! It’s also why sex is so over-legislated and controlled by people and institutions in power.
In other words: If you want a better world, get your perspective on sex – the sex that you and others have – worked out.
In this live, one-session-only online course, Conner Habib will tell you 8 ways to improve your views of sex and how those new viewpoints extend into a better world.
Together, we’ll investigate:
How sex and culture intertwine in the realm of individual freedoms and political rights
The current sexual landscape and not find what’s “natural” or what’s “normal,” or “real,” but what would would be ideal, what would allow the most cultural space for everyone to understand what they’d like, without restricting that access for others.
Why not talking about sex is so damaging
The benefits — and problems — of consent and boundaries
Why immersive and connected sex isn’t “better” than a casual, anxious hookup
What sex workers have to teach us about sexuality and politics
Some messy sexual gropes of history, the unwelcome and forcible restricting grip of power, and the pleasurable moments where we seemed to get it right
and more!
The course is followed by a 45 minutes sex advice Q&A with Conner, where you can get in on the conversation and uncover your own sexual ideas.
You’ll leave the course with a deeper understanding of sex’s role in our cultural psyche, a whole host of sexual stuff to think about (aside from the usual sexual stuff you think about!), and strategies for a new approach to sex and politics.
And you’ll get exclusive access to a recording of the course for 30 days after the course ends!
My blog series, The Sex Radicals returns next week with the penultimate entry. Until then, I wanted to give everyone a heads up about what’s going on here in my ridiculous life.
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Upcoming Events
I’ll be speaking at Catalyst Con West on Saturday September 12, with my closest colleague, Dr. Chris Donaghue. Our talk, “The Limits of Sex Positivity,” will focus on the pitfalls of the sex positive perspective and community. The sex positive movement has helped contribute to a healthier, better educated, and more open sexual culture. But with any cultural shift, new dangers are created. What are the limits, pitfalls, and problems of the sex positive movement? For more info on the talk, click here.
Happily busy with podcasts, videos, interviews, etc.
A while back, I appeared on the Grimerica podcast, which focuses on science at the margins, the occult, and general weirdness. This was my second appearance, and I was joined by the host of one of my other favorite podcasts, Skeptiko. Alex Tsakiris and I talked about all sorts of stuff, and we don’t always agree (as usual with Alex and I), but it goes deep. To listen to the discussion, click here. If you like the discussion, there’s another one between Alex and I, on my blog, here.
In other podcast news, I also appeared on This Week in Blackness after Darkwith host N’Jaila Rhee. We spend the 45 minutes or so talking about the recent federal raid on the offices male escort service, Rentboy. We also discuss all the issues of intersectionality (male privilege, homophobia, class issues, etc.) this raid raises. Lots to chew on.
My series of sexual health videos for the LGBT Center in West Hollywood, produced by WeHo Life, are now out.
In the first video, I talk about cleaning yourself out in preparation for sex. For some reason they wanted me to film that video in a public park, so, enjoy my frank public discussion of a generally private act.
I talk with Happy Endings star Stephen Guarino about open relationships and monogamy, and how to juggle both/either. Quick tip: neither is in-and-of-itself easy. Watch it here.
Meaning, I discuss it with him. Not, like, how to create a sex positive community with James himself. Although, okay, sure, if he lives in your neighborhood, you might want to.
I loved shooting these videos because they allowed me to talk about sex and be goofy at the same time. But not like “tee-hee, OMG it’s SEX” goofy, just like, “look, like is silly and we do this silly thing called sex when we’re alive.”
Also, they did a little opening credits animation thing where I’m the Superman of sex. I like being a superhero.
I’ve got a pop-up live online course Sunday 12/18! 
Conner Habib 