A first disclaimer: This document is a loose, fragmented reader designed to circle the area the APO team intends to discuss in subsequent forums, both inside and outside the context of The New School. Because the topic is so broad and quickly overwhelming, it seems most useful by way of introduction to simply assemble my personal collection of other people’s thinking on the subject past and present, with a view to the future. This is a brief survey based on resources within easy reach and a few months’ worth of casual discussion. It maps the lay of the land as a work-in-progress intended to be amended, added to, and refined. One advantage of this approach is that it ought to remain timely.

A second disclaimer: The entire issue of art/design schooling is infuriatingly elliptical and constantly in danger of canceling itself out. This is, at least in part, because what we might initially perceive to be separable issues (the distinctions between undergraduate and graduate, art and...

This workshop assumes no coding experience and simultaneously takes the position that everyone who interacts with computers in some way is already a programmer.

Nothing here belongs to me - this is, in fact, the closest I've ever gotten to canon/non-AU fanfiction before and therefore I really can't claim ownership of any of it.

Assumed audiences

Here and there, I use the term “assumed audience”, cribbed from Chris Krycho. For example, look at these two posts of his — one, two—with little placards up top making it clear they are aimed at different groups of readers. Those groups might overlap! They might also: not.

I liked Chris’s placards as soon as I saw them; I appreciate the way they push back against the “context collapse” of the internet, in which every public post is, by default, addressed to everyone.

I was going to write a disclaimer here saying "hey look, I'm really not a CSS expert, sorry about that".

But screw that! I'm not an expert, and that's FINE. I'm claiming it. This zine is basically a bunch of stuff that I think is cool about my favorite little web technology. I don't want to reinforce the idea that you need to be an expert to tell people why you're excited about something.

It’s not meant to be a textbook or authorative reference. While I stand behind everything in this zine, I am but an excited friend sharing exciting things. I am not an expert; I don’t even know how to spell authoratative.

🌱 This is a living document. We're still learning, and may revisit this piece over time. Suggestions for how we can make it better? Please comment below or send us a note.

Draft in Progress
The quality of writing below this point is haphazard, disjointed, and possibly nonsensical. It's probably a good idea to come back later.