I Am Not a Bot: The Internet and the Making of Identity [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Bunny McKensie Mack | 3-Weeks | Fridays | September 26-October 10 | 7:00-9:00 PM | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In an era where brands are taught to behave like people, and people are trained to behave like brands, it can be difficult to decide what it means to be human. I Am Not a Bot: The Internet and the Making of Identity is a 3-week in-person course that explores how the internet has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of identity, emotion, accountability, and connection. This course is not about technology as a tool, but about technology as culture—one that actively teaches us how to feel, perform, work, and relate to one another.
We’ll examine the rise of algorithmic culture, the role of digital platforms in shaping our personalities and relationships, and the new language of online selfhood. From NPC (Non-Player Character) trends on TikTok, identity play on Reddit, to the “Touch Grass” and “Analog” movements, we’ll explore how people are navigating, resisting, and sometimes imitating the bots among us. We’ll also study sociological accounts of the impacts of internet usage on human development and innovation, as well as of communities that resist by refusing internet use. And we will turn to speculative fiction, including the work of famed writer Octavia Butler, to ask ourselves: What makes us human when so much of our world is automated?
This course asks hard questions about authenticity, attention, and agency. It’s for anyone who has felt flattened by an algorithm, struggled with the pressure to perform online, or wondered whether the internet is shaping us more than we’re shaping it.
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This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Bunny McKensie Mack | 3-Weeks | Fridays | September 26-October 10 | 7:00-9:00 PM | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In an era where brands are taught to behave like people, and people are trained to behave like brands, it can be difficult to decide what it means to be human. I Am Not a Bot: The Internet and the Making of Identity is a 3-week in-person course that explores how the internet has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of identity, emotion, accountability, and connection. This course is not about technology as a tool, but about technology as culture—one that actively teaches us how to feel, perform, work, and relate to one another.
We’ll examine the rise of algorithmic culture, the role of digital platforms in shaping our personalities and relationships, and the new language of online selfhood. From NPC (Non-Player Character) trends on TikTok, identity play on Reddit, to the “Touch Grass” and “Analog” movements, we’ll explore how people are navigating, resisting, and sometimes imitating the bots among us. We’ll also study sociological accounts of the impacts of internet usage on human development and innovation, as well as of communities that resist by refusing internet use. And we will turn to speculative fiction, including the work of famed writer Octavia Butler, to ask ourselves: What makes us human when so much of our world is automated?
This course asks hard questions about authenticity, attention, and agency. It’s for anyone who has felt flattened by an algorithm, struggled with the pressure to perform online, or wondered whether the internet is shaping us more than we’re shaping it.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $220 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose PayPal at check out.
Instructor: Bunny McKensie Mack | 3-Weeks | Fridays | September 26-October 10 | 7:00-9:00 PM | 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC
In an era where brands are taught to behave like people, and people are trained to behave like brands, it can be difficult to decide what it means to be human. I Am Not a Bot: The Internet and the Making of Identity is a 3-week in-person course that explores how the internet has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of identity, emotion, accountability, and connection. This course is not about technology as a tool, but about technology as culture—one that actively teaches us how to feel, perform, work, and relate to one another.
We’ll examine the rise of algorithmic culture, the role of digital platforms in shaping our personalities and relationships, and the new language of online selfhood. From NPC (Non-Player Character) trends on TikTok, identity play on Reddit, to the “Touch Grass” and “Analog” movements, we’ll explore how people are navigating, resisting, and sometimes imitating the bots among us. We’ll also study sociological accounts of the impacts of internet usage on human development and innovation, as well as of communities that resist by refusing internet use. And we will turn to speculative fiction, including the work of famed writer Octavia Butler, to ask ourselves: What makes us human when so much of our world is automated?
This course asks hard questions about authenticity, attention, and agency. It’s for anyone who has felt flattened by an algorithm, struggled with the pressure to perform online, or wondered whether the internet is shaping us more than we’re shaping it.
—
This class will take place in person at Night School Bar in Durham. Night School requires that students refrain from attending in-person classes when sick. For more on our class policies, see our FAQ. Instructors will also follow this policy. If your instructor is sick, class may be moved to online for a session or rescheduled to the week following the final scheduled session at the instructor’s discretion.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage. We ask that people who make above the living wage threshold for their area strongly consider choosing the full- or mid-level tuition tier in order to support our own living wage program. For Durham, NC, where we are located, the living wage threshold is $49,000 for an individual. All sliding-scale needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.