History and Culture of Open Source
Overview
Open Source is a way of producing software that makes it possible to share code. It’s also so much more — a way of thinking about sharing knowledge, collaborating, and innovating together. This course draws on twenty-five years of adventures in open source, covering the political consequences of technical decisions, democratic and radical politics and how to draw on this history to challenge the current cultural and infrastructural dominance of big tech platforms.
The course's location, the Westminster Quaker Meeting House is close to the Leicester Square tube station.
The price includes all three sessions. If the cost is a challenge, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at x@shoshincollege.org. We want this offering to be accessible.
Session Dates
Week 1: “Free as in Beer” – the origins of Free and Open source software
Thu 6 Nov 2025, 6:30 pm
Jam bands, the Grateful Dead, filesharing and other piratical activities
‘Code as law’ – why software licenses provoked a panic
The Open Source battles – personalities and politics behind ‘free software’ vs ‘open source’
Week 2: Open Source and the market
Thu 13 Nov 2025, 6:30 pm
How open source made today’s platform economy
The limits of open source markets – software, hardware and design
The closed internet – standards setting and Big Tech
Week 3: Technology Politics
Thu 20 Nov 2025, 6:30 pm
Open source movements and radical politics: the case of distributed networking
The ‘democratic internet’
Technology politics and social change today – against ‘enshittification’
Teacher Profile
Dr Alison Powell is a writer, researcher and teacher who has spent twenty years adventuring in the tech industry, beginning with work on community WiFi and radical and distributed networking, spanning technology policy from internet access to AI ethics, while developing strategies for community-building and resistance. Alison’s teaching style is interactive, story-driven and collaborative, helping to make sense of complex ideas, often with a good dose of humour.