[spectre] // Critical Engineering Summer Intensives program //

[Julian Oliver]

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 Sjö

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