A Space for the Intellectually and Sexually Curious

Wednesdays, 8PM EST (July 8 - 29, 2026) (Virtual)

It’s the end of the world as we know it—we might as well enjoy some great films.

In this global film and philosophy seminar, we plunge into alternative visions of the future, utopia, and the apocalypse. We watch and discuss Soviet futuristic fantasies, sensual and absurd longings for utopia, and interrogate Hollywood projections of collapse—of systems, values, climates, and subjectivity—onto the silver screen.

From Soviet sci-fi, overlooked French animated classics, East German parables, Polish surrealist arthouse, to American neoliberal disaster-core, we’ll use film as a philosophical battleground: a glowing, flickering space where collective anxieties are staged, sublimated, and creative futures reign.

While the world obsesses over collapse, this seminar uses cinema to ask a weirder question: How have people imagined something better?

Films will be curated and provided.

Tuesdays, 8PM EST (September 15 - October 16, 2026)

Grab some wine, dress up (or down!) for the camera to discuss short, approachable works by unorthodox thinkers such as Wilhelm Reich, Anais Nin, Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, and others. Some of our topics will include polyamory, BDSM, philosophies of sex in ancient and non-western societies, and even sexual repression among Nazis. Our founder, Joshua, will also curate a handful of indie-experimental-erotic films that match each session’s theme.

Tuesdays, 8PM EST (September 9 - September 30, 2025) (Virtual)

One of our favorite courses, this seminar explores BDSM as an entry point into the psychology of kink and the philosophical questions that it raises and illuminates. We will begin by discussing how BDSM practices were once treated as neuroses and mental illnesses, after which we will explore the work of 20th century philosophers who challenged this perspective. Always eager to share our personal histories and ideas, we will finish our course by examining BDSM as a processes of “becoming…enabled through flows of desire.”

Our titillating reading list includes the Marquis de Sade, Michelle Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Anaïs Nin, and contemporary practitioners and films such as The Duke of Burgundy (2014). These thinkers and artists will help us engage BDSM as a gift to address trauma, as an instrument of empowerment, as a lens onto the humans condition, and as something deliciously pleasurable. As always, the seminar will include a selection of beautiful films, as well as artistic media of all kinds.

Private tutorials provide a tailored, intellectual exploration of a particular topic or question that excites or is relevant to you. Salon’s founder, Joshua, will research and construct a curated reading and media list, guiding and exploring with you. Finally, a professor who is there to help you answer YOUR questions.

Tutorials last for four weeks, plus an initial consultation. They are open to individuals plus their partners or interlocutors (groups and polycules are welcomed!).

Flexible times (Online)

The entire body is a sex organ. We are capable of cultivating pleasure nearly anywhere on our bodies--not to mention in our minds or on different planes of existence. We can achieve this through physical stimulation, intellectual provocation, or even the sound of a lover’s voice--facts we will explore and demonstrate. In this discussion-based seminar, directed by our sensual Salon Professor Jeanne Etelain, we will challenge the narrow focus on penetration in sexual pleasure. We will explore the erotic power of the sexual multitude that underlies (and undermines) the difference between the two sexes.

This seminar is for those curious to learn about the historical construction of anatomical sex, feminist theories of erogenous zones, the latest research on the clitoris, and the unexplored terrain of the prostate. Our fun, approachable readings from authors such as Sigmund Freud, Luce Irigaray, Audre Lorde, Paul Preciado, or Virginie Despentes will be accompanied by curated “practical exercises” done at home…or in class!