|
|
|
Although unintended, the internet is the quintessential example of a large scale anarchist organization. There is no hierarchical authority controlling the internet, the subunits participate voluntarily, information flows freely, individuals join and exit associations at will. Since the internet also contains abundant information about anarchism, it is the perfect medium for a course on the political history and theory of anarchism. Originally this course was designed following a "content based approach to internet literacy" and involved active learning. In previous offerings of this course you did not need to have any internet skills at the beginning of the course. Now, because the computing environment at Pitzer has proven to be so unstable, I have been forced to limit enrollments and require that students already know html in order to take the course. Consequently, the emphasis this semester will be more on anarchism, less on the internet.
Each week we will study a different anarchist theorist or movement and each week you will prepare material to be posted on the internet dealing with classical anarchism. Just as Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the first theorist to call himself an anarchist, acquired much of his education as a by-product of working as a printer, you will learn what the classic anarchists had to say as you prepare their words for publication on the World Wide Web. Although there are two texts for the course, much of the reading will consist of material already on the WWW and material you will scan and mark-up for electronic publication in the "Anarchy Archives".
Class sessions will consist of lectures, workshops, discussions, and perhaps internet video conferencing with scholars who have written about the history and theory of anarchism.
Traditionally, teachers control students' behavior by establishing a hierarchy based on the power to grade. The result is that most students pursue grades rather than knowledge. Anarchists have approached education in an entirely different manner. Anarchists believe that in all spheres, including education, "more harm than good results from coercion, top-down direction, central authority...pre-ordained standardisation..., etc." (Goodman, 1987, "The Anarchist Principle", in A Decade of Anarchy, ed. Colin Ward, p. 38. Also see Godwin, Political Justice, Book IV, Chapter 5, appendix.) Anarchists still recognize the value of leadership and expertise, but leadership and expertise must be separated from the exercise of power in order to avoid the deleterious and corrosive effects of coercion. Accordingly, in this course, evaluation will not result in a grade. As elaborated upon below, all students enrolled in the course will receive an "A" on their transcript. In this course, evaluation will be solely for the purpose of edification, and will be reserved strictly for participating members of the course collective.
The practice of anarchy requires order and moral integrity. Although adherence to anarchism is by no means a requirement of the course, order and integrity are necessary values to maintain if the course is to be a success. To meet these requirements, by voluntarily enrolling in this course and thereby becoming a member of the course collective, you have agreed to attend class sessions, make weekly contributions to the "Anarchy Archives", do the weekly reading for the course on a regular basis, and by the end of the semester 1) produce one scholarly work on any topic in the history and theory of anarchism. If at any time during the semester you wish to leave the course collective, you may do so simply by dropping the class. If you choose to leave the course collective after the official add/drop period you will receive a "WP" (withdraw passing) grade on your transcript. If at any time during the semester you fail to meet the requirements of membership in the course collective, you may be asked to withdraw from the course. If you fail to withdraw from the course after being asked to withdraw, you will receive an "F" for the course on your transcript. Coming to the second class meeting constitutes agreement to these terms.
By eliminating traditional grading from the internal structure of the course I hope to create the possibility of a truly collective learning experience. Hopefully, this will create an environment in which we participate in the class activities for the intrinsic pleasure of learning, not the fear of a plummeting GPA. While grading has been eliminated, work has not. Perhaps by removing the drudgery of grades, room can be made to experience the joy of productive work. The class is designed in such a way that we will all be able to make real contributions to others' potential for learning, at the same time that we learn ourselves. How much we each learn will depend upon how much effort we each put into the course. On that note, I should make it clear that I have no interest in providing a refuge for those in need of a GPA fix. Therefore, you will be expected to make an effort to participate in the class. If you do not make that effort, you will be wasting not only your time, but other members' time as well and you will be asked to drop the course. Taking this class, therefore, should not be done lightly. The basic activities of the course are elaborated upon below, including descriptions of the "bare minimum" for meeting course expectations.
Marshall, Peter. (1993), Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. London: Fontana Press. Bookchin, Murray (1977). The Spanish Anarchists. New York: Harper and Row.There will also be occasional articles or chapters in books that will need to be read. These will be on reserve or online. In short, actual assigned readings are relatively modest, i.e., generally less than 100 pages a week. Each week, however, there will be additional reading necessary to make your contribution to the Anarchy Archives and to produce the scholarly work due by the end of the semester. The reading list will contain extensive bibliographies from which you can select additional reading material.
DIRECT DOWNLOADS | |
---|---|
MAC | WINDOWS |
Anarchie (FTP Client) BBeditLite (HTML Editor) StuffIt Lite 3.6 (Utility) Fetch (FTP Client) Graphic Converter (Graphics Utility) ircle (Chat Client) rtftohtml (Word to Web Utility) Stuffit Expander (Utility) NCSA Telnet (Telnet Client) The InFORMer (translates form data) Turbo Gopher (Gopher Client) WebColor (HTML Color Assistant) WebMap (Creates Interactive Maps) |
CRT (Telnet Client) CuteFTP (FTP Client) EOHex (Color Picker) FreeAgent (News Reader) FTPVoyager (FTP client) HGopher (Gopher Client) Mapedit (Creates Interactive Maps) Stuffit Expander (Utility) Trumptel (Telnet Client) UltraEdit (HTML Editor) WinZip (Utility) wsircc20 (Chat Client) |
The required readings are listed below in green type.
OVERVIEW Bibliographic Resources |
ANARCHIST ROOTS |
GODWIN AND HIS TIME Bibliographic Resources |
GODWIN'S PHILOSOPHY |
PROUDHON AND HIS TIME Bibliographic Resources |
PROUDHON'S PHILOSOPHY |
BAKUNIN AND HIS TIME Bibliographic Resources |
BAKUNIN'S PHILOSOPHY |
THE PARIS COMMUNE, SOCIALISM AND ANARCHISM Bibliographic Resources |
|
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL Bibliographic Resources |
KROPOTKIN AND HIS TIME Bibliographic Resources |
KROPOTKIN'S PHILOSOPHY |
EMMA GOLDMAN'S LIFE & TIMES Bibliographic Resources |
EMMA GOLDMAN'S PHILOSOPHY |
STIRNER, MALATESTA, TOLSTOY,AND OTHERS Bibliographic Resources |
THE IMPACT OF NINETEENTH CENTURY ANARCHISM |
ANARCHISM AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION Bibliographic Resources |
ANARCHISM IN THE CHINESE REVOLUTIONS Bibliographic Resources |
US ANARCHISM Bibliographic Resources |
EUROPEAN ANARCHISM |
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR Bibliographic Resources |
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR |
LATIN AMERICAN ANARCHISM ASIAN ANARCHISM |
ANARCHIST POLITICS AND ECONOMICS |