Is heterosexuality a coercive institution that aids and abets the oppression of women? So argues Adrienne Rich in her famous essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” which gave voice to a nascent lesbian liberation movement in search of alternatives to heterosexual feminism. A major poet, Rich was also one of the key theoretical and literary voices of the women’s liberation movement, and her prose work is by now canonical in the field of gender studies. And with her poetry, Rich created a body of verse that investigated social, cultural, and political conditions for women in the last half of the twentieth century, as well as the personal toll of feminist politics. Her writings have been at the heart of numerous feminist controversies, from trans exclusionary radical feminism to pornography, but have nonetheless continued to shape lesbian feminist discourse into the present day. How can we understand Rich’s unique corpus of poetry and feminist theory? How, for Rich, does one inform the other? And what is the problem with heterosexual feminism? How do gender, sexuality, reproduction, and liberation relate?

In this course, we will explore Adrienne Rich’s complicated legacy as theorist, activist, and poet by reading her work alongside the work of her fiercest critics and allies in the feminist movement, including Mary Daly, Susan Sontag, Andrea Dworkin, Michelle Cliff, and Audre Lorde. Beginning with Rich’s foundational theorization of compulsory heterosexuality, we will read her essays on sexual violence, lesbian love, women’s education, motherhood, pornography, and racism alongside key poems from her oeuvre spanning the crucial years of women’s liberation. In what ways have women’s bodies historically been viewed as being at the service of men, and how has heterosexuality instantiated that belief? What would it mean to build a “women’s culture” and how might this further feminism’s aims? What political potentials lie in viewing motherhood as an institution, rather than an innate desire or calling? What role might anger, disagreement, and even violence play in the feminist fight to end patriarchal oppression?

Instructor: Hannah Leffingwell

Course Schedule

Monday, 6:30-9:30pm ET
September 08 — September 29, 2025
4 weeks

$335.00

Three scholarship spaces are reserved for each course, because we realize that not everyone can afford to pay the full fee. Students who cannot pay the full fee should email us at info@thebrooklyninstitute.com to learn about our scholarship options. We will not ask questions about your financial situation, but we do ask that you use the system in good faith and consider the needs of other students and faculty members.

Register here: https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/items/courses/new-york/adrienne-rich/

If you experience difficulties entering your card at checkout, please feel free to call 718-422-7767 or email info@thebrooklyninstitute.com for assistance.

The course meetings will take place in person at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, on the second floor (room 210) of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., NYC, 10011. The Bureau is closed on Mondays, but will open for these meetings at 6 pm on the scheduled Mondays.