In the “long 60s” and early 70s, a new technology was fundamentally changing the way people thought, and fundamentally changed by the way people had been thinking. The early adopters of the computer formed new subcultures around this new technology, and participatory hacker culture flourished. As Marshall McLuhan states, the medium is the message, and that dictum applies here: in this class, we will delve into how the medium of technology affected hacker cultures (like the early days of Unix, the infamous MIT hackers, and the Cult of the Dead Cow) and the new left, laying the groundwork for the open-source software community. Because of these movements you have access to incredible software written by thousands of people for free—join us to learn more!

Do you ever have a question you want answered, and for whatever reason Google isn't scratching your itch? Do you want to be able to search archives of scholarly work? In this class, I will teach you how to use the research utility JSTOR, alongside some other useful tools for research; I will also go over how to even read a research paper. While this class is aimed more in the humanities direction (that's where I've been trained, largely), the skills should also carry over to reading scientific papers, if that's more your thing.

In this class, we will use the show Legends of Korra as a medium through which to discuss the Ideologies and Historical Context of the Villains, and so of early 1900s political philosophies. Through which, we will discuss what ideologies are represented faithfully in the show, and which ones are less so, to put it mildly. Topics to be discusses include Socialism, Anarchism, the Red Scare and J Edgar Hoover, and some methods of "close reading" and critical analysis that you can use to be a better consumer of media!

In this class, we will watch the science fiction masterpiece, Metropolis. Created in 1927, this movie created many aspects which are still in science fiction today, like mad scientists and unsubtle parallels to modern times. The practical effects still hold up, and the over the top acting is fun to watch too! Come if you have any interest in science fiction, film history, or just want to have a good time! Note: Metropolis (1927) is not rated, and has some mature content

In this class, we will read sections of Petronius' Satyricon, a bawdy (and rather hilarious) narrative set in a INCREDIBLY rich guys dinner party. During said dinner, we see over the top dishes (think the most extravagant parody of a roman dinner), bad astrology, circus performances, and so much more!