<nettime> Critical Engineering Summer Intensives program

[Danja Vasiliev <robot@k0a1a.net>]

We're very pleased to announce our Summer Intensives program, Berlin 2016.

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BIOTECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO BIOSURVEILLANCE, 18-19 August
With Heather Dewey-Hagborg

How much can you learn about a stranger from a stray cigarette butt?
What does (and doesn't) your DNA reveal? How are emerging genetic
technologies reinforcing age old stereotypes and what can we do to
subvert them?

In this 2 day workshop we will take a tour of diy biotech including DNA
extraction, phenotyping, and concoction of our own genetic obfuscation
spray. We will explore the present and future of biological surveillance
and discuss what you can do to resist it.

No prior experience is necessary.

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RADIO

INTRODUCTION TO SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO, 27-28 August
With Julian Oliver and Bengt Sjölen

In this 2 day intensive participants will learn how to use a 12 Euro USB
dongle* with free and open-source software to read, record and
appropriate a vast world of signal around them. From weather satellite
imagery to the International Space Station, police and military radio,
pirate and amateur bands, software-defined radio allows for a laptop to
become a powerful ear into a world otherwise unheard by the devices we use.

Outdoor excursions with antennae will be made to ensure participants
have real-world experience discovering and recording RF phenomena.
Skills, terms and concepts learned are then directly applicable to
further self-learning in areas such as DIY cellular infrastructure,
pirate and packet radio, radio-astronomy and wireless counter-surveillance.

* RTLSDR USB dongle included in course fee

No prior experience is necessary.

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NETWORKING

NETWORKSHOP, 23-25 August
With Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev

Ask anyone how the postal system works and they would give a vaguely
correct description. Few however would come close to describing how
email, let alone a computer network itself, actually functions. With
this lack of knowledge comes a risk; we lack the practical understanding
to effectively read the infrastructural and political implications of
our increased dependency on this technology.

In this 3 day version of the popular NETworkshop intensive, participants
learn low-level networking using only command line tools and network
hardware. In doing so they not only grasp how to create and manipulate
computer networks, but how they can be used to manipulate us.

By learning about routing, addressing, core protocols, network
topologies, packet capture and dissection, students become dexterous and
empowered users of computer networks. Complete documentation and
software is provided.

No prior experience is necessary.

SELFHOSTED, 07-09 September
With Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev

Decentralise! This 3-day intensive walks participants through the
process of setting up email, cloud and website services on an
Internet-reachable server that they control - scalable to hundreds or
thousands of users. Participants will be encouraged to choose and
register a geographically-local server package in class such that they
can be guided through a complete install (typical monthly fees are EUR40).

Good server-side security practices are covered, from disk-encryption to
password-management and firewalling. The basics of the UNIX command line
is also taught such that participants can securely log into their server
and administer it regardless of their physical location.

It takes just 1 or 2 people in a community to give the gift of quality,
localised and decentralised infrastructure - to take the power back.

No prior experience is necessary, although attention to detail and some
experience in the UNIX command line are an advantage.

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CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

OFFLINE PUBLISHING, 02-04 September
With Sarah Grant

Relying on commercial ISPs and web hosting companies creates an
expensive dependency that tethers you to their terms and to physical
locations where their networks reach, not to mention the fact that your
data will live on hardware that is out of your control. Equip yourself
with the skills necessary to create your own offline wireless access
point and web site for collecting and sharing content, which can be
installed anywhere.

In this three day workshop, we will learn how to build a portable
device that runs its own wireless access point and web server hosting a
message board, using open source hardware and software. We will cover
the basics of wireless networking, working with the Raspberry Pi, web
development, and weatherproofing your device. If time permits, we will
also incorporate GSM capabilities for providing a cellular interface for
capturing SMS text and audio recordings. Feel free to come with ideas
for projects that you would like to see hosted on your device.

No prior experience is necessary.

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Please find the further information and registration details at:

    https://criticalengineering.org/intensives/2016

Kind regards,


-- 
The Critical Engineering Working Group
http://criticalengineering.org

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