Princeton to offer 'Black + Queer in Leather' course

Princeton University will offer “Black + Queer in Leather: Black Leather/BDSM Material Culture” as a spring semester course.

The New Jersey course will be taught by Tiona Nekkia McClodden, who is a Princeton Arts Fellow and a Lecturer in Lewis Center for the Arts.

[Related: Course at Utah college lets class ‘watch pornographic films together’]

“Black Queer BDSM material culture resists contextualization in relationship to biographical narratives because of the underground elements of the community,” the course description reads. 

“This course will explore the material culture of this community from three perspectives: Architecture + Location, Visual Artists and Exhibitions, and Black Queer BDSM communities with a significant research focus on finding and presenting new materials.” 

“We will consider the fragility of archival engagement with these communities by surveying existing BDSM archives in research libraries, community groups, and individuals and their personal ephemera,” it continues.

[Related: REPORT: Professor under investigation after showing ‘deviant pornography’ to students]

The reading list includes The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography, A Taste for Brown Sugar: Black Women in Pornography, and Fetishism as Cultural Discourse.

Campus Reform contacted McClodden and Princeton for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.