We have a lot of baggage when it comes to rest.
How we earn it, who deserves it, and what it looks like—our understanding of rest and comfort is formed by the cultural, political, and economic narratives we encounter as soon as we're born.
And often the best way to challenge those narratives and rethink our stories is by stepping outside of our own lives.
In Summer Seminar x What Works, we'll read and reflect on two speculative novellas that explore rest and comfort. We'll combine that fictional exploration with short essays by theorists and critics.
Summer Seminar is an 8-week collaborative learning experience for rethinking our assumptions about rest and comfort. The program combines curated reading with thoughtful prompts for reflection and dynamic discussions (live and asynchronous).
What do you believe about rest?
What We're Reading
The Monk & Robot novellas by Becky Chambers imagine a future full of grace, hope, and community. Written as a way to explore her own relationship with burnout and work, these novellas ask us to consider some of our foundational beliefs about what makes us worthy and deserving of rest.
You’ll have approximately 40 pages (about 45 minutes) to read each week to complete both books during the program.
Supplemental Reading
We'll also read short essays by Ursula K. Le Guin, Audre Lorde, David Graeber, and Anne Helen Petersen.
Meet Your Guide
Tara McMullin is a writer and critic who studies the future of work through the lens of philosophy, critical theory, and media. She's the creator of What Works and the co-founder of YellowHouse.Media, a boutique production agency.
She believes that care, curiosity, and context create an environment where we can not only learn but experience new and sometimes challenging ideas with grace. She's coached, taught, and facilitated for over 15 years—including more than a dozen classes with CreativeLive.
Tara brings her own experience as an autistic feminist, endurance athlete, and amateur baker to everything she does.
The Reading & Discussion Schedule
Join Summer Seminar
Summer Seminar runs from June 24-August 23. Each week, you'll have less than 1 hour of reading to complete. You'll receive corresponding prompts for reflection and the opportunity to share your thoughts with other participants via written responses. Every other week, we'll meet for a live group discussion: July 10, July 24, August 7, and August 21 at 1pm EDT (New York)/10am PDT (Los Angeles).
Summer Seminar is offered on a sliding scale to accommodate varying financial circumstances. Please see below for the options.
If joining Summer Seminar isn't in the cards but you'd like to read along on your own, you can find the full reading list in the sample curriculum above!
What is Seminar x What Works?
Seminar x What Works is a series of immersive learning experiences that examine the cultural, political, economic, and personal aspects of work in the 21st-century economy. From productivity to marketing to management to media and beyond, a Seminar will help you see your work in a whole new light.
Nuts & Bolts
The two novellas are readily available in independent bookstores, online retailers, and quite possibly at your local library. The books are not included with your registration fee and need to be acquired separately.
Each essay is available online. You can find links to each one in the "Reading List & Schedule" preview above. Tara will provide additional reading ideas if you have a little more time or a lot more curiosity!
Each live group discussion will be recorded. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in both the whole group and breakout groups, with the option to join a quiet space for self-reflection if they prefer not to join a small group. We strive to make discussion opportunities neurodivergence and introvert-friendly. Please let us know if there are any accommodations you need.
Seminars are designed to be inclusive of a wide-range of identities. While we can't promise a particular makeup of participants, we regularly work with queer, Black, POC, neurodivergent, chronically ill, and disabled participants.