In this film and reading series we will watch and critique a selection of curated films and movies that depict decidedly queer educational relationships between individuals and institutions while drinking beer/beverages and eating snacks. Some questions we might ask ourselves: What constitutes and forms our relationships to institutions as queer relationships? Do queer people occupy classrooms differently, why, and in what ways? To what extent have queer presence and logics existed historically as a rupture in institutionalized educational logics and frameworks? In what state do queer presence and logics present themselves in those spaces now? Why can’t (insert student character) and (insert teacher character) be together and live happily ever after without the cops coming?

For the first installment of the series, we will be watching Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform); a 1931 German feature-length film based on the play Gestern und heute (Yesterday and Today) by Christa Winsloe and directed by Leontine Sagan. Optionally, I will be providing the lyrics to Le Tigre’s “Eau’ Du Bedroom Dancing” as a lens through which to consider the film. Please stay for mingling and light discussion after the film.

Synopsis of the film: When Manuela von Meinhardis (Hertha Thiele) is brought to the boarding school for officers’ daughters, she has difficulty adjusting to the rigid discipline of the institution and its authoritarian head mistress, Fraülein von Nordeck zur Nidden (Emilia Unda). Manuela is taken under the wing of Fraülein von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck), the most popular and compassionate teacher in the school. Like the other students, Manuela swoons whenever Fraülein von Bernburg gives her attention or advice. However, under the pressure and punitive environment of the boarding school, Meinhardis is driven to attempt suicide.Facilitated by Jordan Martin 
 
Jordan Martin went to Cooper Union School of Art and is a musician, writer, and artist. She spends a lot of her time writing fan-fiction about lesbian films and making electronic music based off of that fan fiction.
 
Suggested donation of $3