There is increasing awareness and, arguably, acceptance of LGBT people and issues in society. However, that acronym, and the average person's understanding of the queer community, still leaves a lot of people out. This class will discuss such topics as: * The asexuality spectrum * Romantic orientation vs. sexual orientation * Non-binary genders * Intersex conditions * Pansexuality and its overlap with bisexuality * The overlap between the LGBTQ community and other communities Students will hopefully come away with a better understanding of the broader queer/LGBTQ community and have resources to explore the issues further if they would like.

Many people have heard of Dungeons & Dragons, but there are a lot of equally amazing tabletop games out there -- and some only take a few hours to learn and play. Come to this session, and we'll learn to play one. I will be bringing Microscope (2-4 players), Durance (3-5 players), and Archipelago (small group, probably 3-5 people), and the group will vote on which one they want to play. All three involve a lot of participation by the group in playing as far as worldbuilding and character creation. If more people show up than can play a single game, I will be glad to lend one of the other books to a different group to play and help as needed to figure out the rules of the game.

There is increasing awareness and, arguably, acceptance of LGBT people and issues in society. However, that acronym, and the average person's understanding of the queer community, still leaves a lot of people out. This class will discuss such topics as: * The asexuality spectrum * Romantic orientation vs. sexual orientation * Non-binary genders * Intersex conditions * Pansexuality and its overlap with bisexuality * The overlap between the LGBTQ community and other communities Students will hopefully come away with a better understanding of the broader queer/LGBTQ community and have resources to explore the issues further if they would like.

There is more societal awareness, if not societal acceptance, of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. However, there are a number of sexual and romantic orientations and gender identities that are rarely if ever recognized or discussed. This presentation will give an overview of some of these lesser-known identities, such as the asexual and aromantic spectrums; pansexuality; intersex; and non-binary and genderqueer identities, as well as the issues that most affect these communities.

People whose bodies and brains are considered "abnormal" have long been targets of discrimination and mistreatment -- even, or especially, in the medical world. This presentation will discuss how this has played out historically; how it continues today; what's being done about it, and what remains to be done. This will include topics such as the historical use of institutionalization and human experimentation; behavior modification programs for teenagers and people with disabilities; weight discrimination in health care; forced surgery on intersex children; "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ people; and denial of transgender health care.

You: Love writing fiction. Flash fiction. Short fiction. Novellas. Novels. Text-based roleplay. Comics. Graphic Novels. Fanfic. Possibly edgy or experimental. Some experience and past interest in creative writing of some kind. Us: A civil rights lawyer and a law student. Activists. Gluttons for good food. Easily distracted by kittens and dogs. Long time text-based roleplayers. One of us a novelist. What We'll Do: In this class, we'll talk about motivation, cultural context, political intrigue, relationship angst (and not just THOSE kinds of relationships), trauma, and identity. You will learn how to develop realistic, compelling characters full of depth. (At least in theory. This IS Spark after all.) And then you will learn how to torture your characters -- that is, how to create and sustain personal and interpersonal conflict in your fiction, and how to make the story quintessentially readable and enjoyable, and ideally, relatable.

If you like metal and you like history, Sabaton is the band for you, and this is your class. Since 1999, the Swedish metal band has written songs about military history, including World Wars I and II and the Great Northern War in Europe. In this presentation, we will listen to 5 songs from the band (with lyrics provided), and I will discuss the historical events and figures behind the songs, such as King Charles XII ("Carolus Rex") of Sweden, the Russian "Night Witches" in World War II, and the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I.

Many people have heard of Dungeons & Dragons, but there are a lot of equally amazing tabletop games out there -- and some only take a few hours to learn and play. Come to this session, and we'll learn to play one. I will be bringing Microscope (2-4 players), Durance (3-5 players), and Archipelago (small group, probably 3-5 people), and the group will vote on which one they want to play. All three involve a lot of participation by the group in playing as far as worldbuilding and character creation. If more people show up than can play a single game, I will be glad to lend one of the other books to a different group to play and help as needed to figure out the rules of the game.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to make a plush toy of a humanoid character. This will teach the basics of how to make the body form. Students will receive basic supplies like needles, thread, fabric and polyfil, and patterns for the body form, face and clothing for future reference.

For the last several decades, young people across America have been sent to programs called wilderness camps, boot camps, therapeutic boarding schools and youth ranches. These programs claim to provide treatment, discipline and/or education for things ranging from having low self-esteem and being gay to addiction and violent crime. However, the industry has a long history of abuse and neglect of the youth in its care. This course will discuss the history of the industry, some of the prominent practices in it, the efforts to regulate it, and the efforts to get justice for survivors of abuse in programs. There will be time for questions and discussion after the presentation.

There is increasing awareness and, arguably, acceptance of LGBT people and issues in society. However, that acronym, and the average person's understanding of the queer community, still leaves a lot of people out. This class will discuss such topics as: * The asexuality spectrum * Romantic orientation vs. sexual orientation * Non-binary genders * Intersex conditions * Pansexuality and its overlap with bisexuality * The overlap between the LGBTQ community and other communities Students will hopefully come away with a better understanding of the broader queer/LGBTQ community and have resources to explore the issues further if they would like.