Free Skool:Summer 2013 Reading Group

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Reading Group on Anarchism

Class Description

The focus of this class will be readings on historical and contemporary anarchism. Anarchism is a major component of social movements, perhaps the dominant influence during the late 19th and early 20th Century. The past decade or so has seen a major resurgence of anarchist thought and principles, though perhaps not labeled as such. An understanding of anarchism and its place in our society is extremely important for anyone concerned with social justice. We'll explore classics like Bakunin and Kropotkin as well as anarchism's influence on movements like Occupy, Free Culture, and DIY. Open to recommendations for texts/excerpts. We'll even have awesome videos!

Things We'll Cover

• An introduction to anarchism, starting with a very basic outline of its history and common threads throughout differing anarchist movements (syndicalism etc.)
• Major events like Haymarket, the Spanish Civil War, Seattle WTO protests, Occupy.

Time and Location

Classes take place Tuesdays 6:30pm to 7:30pm EST, July 16 thru August 27 at The People's Arts Collective of New Haven:

212 College St, New Haven, CT 06511

Optionally, after class sessions can be scheduled, preferably somewhere with beer and the Internet.

Signing Up

There are a few ways to do this, there's a signup sheet at the Free Skool website, but it requires giving your information to Google via Google Docs. You can also just contact the facilitators (listed below) directly, or just show up. Classes are typically 6-10 people.

• To edit this wiki, you must request an account.

Facilitators

Sean "Diggity" O'Brien

me@seandiggity.com or sean@webio.me

Dan Fischer

danfischer4@gmail.com

Dan Kwet

dan@dankwet.com

Participants

• Katie Smuckler katiesmuckler@gmail.com

Class Outline

Session 1

July 16, 2013

• Introductions. What interests you about anarchism? What drew you to this discussion group?
• Video Clips:
  • Anarchists in the 1936 Spanish Civil War
  • Clips from Breaking the Spell
• What Is Anarchism? Short definitions from sources like An Anarchist FAQ, Chomsky, Rocker.
• Decide upon what to read before next session.

Readings "Assigned" from Session 1

• Selections from Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertian Ideas V1
  • Bakunin Sections:
    • 22 What is the State?
    • 23 The Illusion of Universal Suffrage
    • 24 On Science and Authority
  • Kropotkin
    • 41 On Anarchism
    • 34 Fields, Factories, and Workshops
    • 53 Mutual Aid and Anarchist Morality

• Anarchy Works by Peter Gelderloos

• Introduction
  • Anarchy Would Never Work
  • What exactly is anarchism?
  • A note on inspiration
  • The tricky topic of representation
• Human Nature
  • Aren’t people naturally selfish?
  • Aren’t people naturally competitive?
  • Haven’t humans always been patriarchal?
  • Aren’t people naturally warlike?
  • Aren’t domination and authority natural?
  • A broader sense of self

Recommended Videos

• This Is What Democracy Looks Like

Recommended Readings

• An Anarchist FAQ
• Anarchy Works by Peter Gelderloos
• Emma Goldman writings
• Bakunin on Marx and the First International
• The Kind of Anarchism I Believe in, and What's Wrong with Libertarians, Noam Chomsky interview
• Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas by Robert Graham
• Nestor Makhno: The Man and the Myth by Paul Avrich
• Kropotkin article from 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Lucy Parsons
• Demanding the Impossible: a History of Anarchism by Peter H. Marshall
• Government in the Future by Noam Chomsky
• David Graeber

Freedom Tips

1. Did you know there's a long-running anarchist press collective from Oakland, CA called AK Press?

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