I am honoured to be the new Facilitator on the History & Theory of Kink and BDSM Reading Group for 2025, at special invitation of CARAS in the USA.
For those unfamiliar with CARAS, the name is short for Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities. They are a USA national-level, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports research addressing understudied sexualities, with a focus on kink / BDSM / leather / fetish sexualities. CARAS is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor Continuing Education for psychologists (and CE Credits).
Although they are based out of the USA, they welcome members and Reading Group participants from all over the world.
The Co-Facilitators for the Modern Semester Reading Group are:
Mel Leverich - Archivist and Collections Librarian for the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago. Mel has a Masters of Archival Studies from the University of British Columbia, and is a member of the CARAS Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Mike Sappol, PhD - Visiting researcher at Uppsala University, based in Stockholm, Sweden. For many years he was a curator and scholar-in-residence in the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine (USA).
and me...
Leonora Anne Weston is an International expert in Dominance studies, history and arts, and Ki theory hyperarousal responses to force power. She authored ‘The History & Arts of the Dominatrix’ under the pseudonym Anne O Nomis, undertaking original research in museums, libraries and underground sources, and holds a Master's degree in Comparative Art and Archaeology from University College London. For more information about Weston's current projects, please visit: www.theki.com.au , historyofthedominatrix.com, and www.villadomme.com.
The CARAS Reading Group Modern Semester Monthly Topics (2025) on the History & Theory of Kink and BDSM are:
Sex Wars (February 2, 2025), Consent (March, 2, 2025), Intersections (April 6, 2025)
Dominatrix (May 4, 2025), Community (June 1, 2025).
Can I join the Reading Group?
Yes, you can! The virtual reading group to discuss academically oriented readings that are relevant to the history and theory of Kink and BDSM. There are set dates, attendance requirements and commitment to read materials ahead of class - so please do read the following prior to joining so that you know what you're getting yourself into.
There is a Meet and Greet for the Reading Group Modern Semester on Sunday, January 26, 2025, 10-11am (Pacific, USA) 1-2pm (Eastern, USA), which is Open to Everyone, and you can come along and meet the facilitators and ask any questions.
Sign-up for the Reading Group Meet & Greet here: https://forms.gle/ABG8Y9qtqarr42Kq7
Dates and Topics
The reading group will run from February to June. The reading group meets on the first Sunday of each month. Please refer to the Schedule and Readings List document for details. The first meeting of the CARAS Reading Group, 2025 Modern Semester is on Sunday, February 2, 2025, and the dates of each topic are:
Sex Wars (February 2, 2025)
Consent (March, 2, 2025)
Intersections (April 6, 2025)
Dominatrix (May 4, 2025)
Community (June 1, 2025)
Time
Scheduled meetings of the reading group are two hours in duration. The time for meetings is generally: 10am-noon (US Pacific); 11am-1pm (US Mountain); noon-2pm (US Central); 1-3 pm (US Eastern); 6-8 pm (London); 7-9pm (Prague, Stockholm, Berlin). Please check your local time zone to confirm -- you can use 1pm US Eastern time (New York) as a reference start time. Any changes for a particular meeting will be published and announced in advance.
Meeting location
The group will meet virtually on Google Meet. Reading group members will receive a Google Meet link prior to the meeting by email.
Reading Group Members - Subscribers to CARAS
All members of the Reading Group are current subscribers of the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS). You can subscribe to CARAS at https://carasresearch.org/subscribe. More information about CARAS can be found on the CARAS website, at https://carasresearch.org.
Meeting Expectations
Reading group members are asked to complete designated readings before each meeting and to attend meetings.
Attendance
Our vision and experience with the CARAS Reading Group is of a group of people who will, over the five month period of the reading group, work together and support each other while engaging these significant and challenging texts. Thus, regular attendance is important.
If a member misses two (of five) meetings they will be dropped from the roster for the current session. We understand that various issues may come up that prevent participation, and returning for a future iteration of the Reading Group is fine!
Meetings are Not Recorded
Please note that the meetings will not be recorded by the host and should not be recorded without the permission of all participants.
Reading Group Listserv
Members will be enrolled in a dedicated CARAS listserv hosted on groups.io. This listserve will be used exclusively by the Reading Group and is the primary means of communication for the group. We use this list for for discussion, updates, and current Google Meet links.
Materials
On the readings list for each month there is a selection of primary readings that everyone should read prior to the meeting. There is also a list of recommended readings that provide additional information and context addressing the monthly topic. Recommended readings are optional. The readings list may be updated. The Schedule and Readings List is linked here:
https://caras-researchlink.org/rg-modern-readings-schedule
Please note that some of these readings may require access to a library or purchase. Any college/university or public library can assist you to obtain books and articles. To help to prioritize, at the end of this information sheet we list several books that are recommended for purchase. If you have any trouble with gaining access to certain readings but are interested in being in the group, please contact us at reading.group@caras.ws.
Use of Reading Group materials for course syllabus development, classes, or presentations
CARAS hopes to facilitate use of this scholarly literature in the emerging field of "Kink Studies" and for other scholarly and informational purposes. The CARAS Reading Group Schedule and Reading List, and other CARAS public project materials, unless specifically noted, are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License, CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This means that use for non-commercial purposes, with credit to CARAS and the authors of a particular product, is fine.
Please note that this CC BY-NC 4.0 license applies only to public CARAS works such as the reading lists. The references cited and other materials may be subject to copyright. The user of such materials, not CARAS, is responsible for obtaining any needed permissions for use from the copyright holder.
About the CARAS Education Program
For general information about the CARAS Education Program, please visit: https://caras-researchlink.org/education
Contact Information
If you are interested in participating in the group, we would love to hear from you! Please email education@carasresearch.org if you have any questions.
To register for the Reading Group, visit: https://forms.gle/dHyjw2gcNbyQm9FV7
The deadline for registration is Friday, January 31, 2025.