Fictional Sociology
   
 
Fictional Sociology is a full-time, two quarter program currently being taught at The Evergreen State College.  The curriculum features satire, both as object and actitivity.  Fall quarter we read satirists from Erasmus and Swift to Lenny Bruce and Al Franken.  Winter quarter we have studied works by Christopher Lasch, Dave Hickey, Jeannette Winterson, Alain de Botton, Michel Foucault, Edgar Friedenberg, Paul LaFargue and others.

Faculty and students are producing satire as well as studying it.

The Spokesperson:
A program newsletter documents some of this work.  Distribution has been hampered by one thing and another (see the saga of The SP), but here are the issues published so far:
 

The Spokesperson, Oct. 28, 1998

The Spokesperson, Nov. 10, 1998

The Spokesperson, Nov. 18, 1998

The Spokesperson, Jan. 12, 1999 

The Spokesperson, Feb. 16, 1999
 

[Adobe Acrobat Reader will open these files.]

We welcome your comments.  Send them to The Spokesperson, at <spokesperson.evergreen.edu> or to the faculty of Fictional Sociology: Sara Rideout <rideouts@evergreen.edu>, Bill Arney <arney@evergreen.edu>, and Charles Pailthorp <pailthorp@evergreen.edu>.
 



Student work:
Student projects are underway.  Most are satirical.
The project group addressing "Ageism" publishes an online magazine, Avoid Old Online.
"Medical Treatment Institute" project group has put up a home page.
 

Other links:

Robert C. Thomas, (excerpted) "Dying to Know: the Culture of Safe Sex" 

David Noble's Articles on Digital Diploma Mills

       Part I: The Automation of Higher Education
       October, 1997
       Part II: The Coming Battle Over Online Instruction
       March,1998
       Part III: The Bloom Is Off the Rose
       November, 1998

David Noble interviewed in Networking, February, 1999

Andrew Feenberg, "Distance Learning: Promise or Threat"

Leisure Party Manifesto

Slow Food



Last modified: February 25, 1999