The Guerilla Lecture Initiative, was designed as part of the Parasitic University alternative learning frameworks. The lecture series brought six academics into public communal venues across London using the pub, cafe, a market, a barbershop, and a corner store to share their specialist knowledge in Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Materials, Meta Design, Ethnobotany and Philosophy. The intention of these films was to illustrate the pre-existing forms of learning, which take place in “non-academic” spaces and widen the access to institutional resources.
Lectures
Terry Rosenberg and Martin Conreen — The Materiality of Sport
Location: Goldsmiths Tennis Courts, New Cross, London
Description: While playing tennis, Martin Conreen, material expert and founder of the Institute of Making, and Terry Rosenberg, senior lecturer of design at Goldsmiths, discussed the material networks and evolution of sport as well as the philosophy of sports competition and the relationship to social engagement.
Dr Gabriel Dattatreyan and Dr Martyn Wemyss — Postcolonial Train Debate
Location: London Overground New Cross, Highbury Islington, London
Description: Over the course of their journey on the Overground, Dr Gabriel Dattatreyan and Dr Martyn Wemyss, professors of anthropology at Goldsmiths, discussed a number of postcolonial theories and subject matter,interjected with personal reflections; utilised the train and their surroundings as pedagogical tools; and used print advertisements to propel their conversations and draw relationships between the subject matter and space they were in.
Vinny Montag — The Museum of the Refused Design Thinking Workshop
Location: Fat Walrus Pub, New Cross, London
Description: Vinny Montag, designer, studio manager and adjunct lecturer at Goldsmiths, ran a speculative workshop focused on the design of museums titled The Museum of the Refused in the Fat Walrus Pub. Alaa Alsaraji’s ideal museum, which housed all the things she felt were lacking or misrepresented in museum spaces.
Dr. Rose Sinclair — Education and the Diaspora
Location: Deptford Market, Deptford, London
Description: Dr Rose Sinclair’s lesson focused on urban development, gentrification and education. Involving a walk around the Deptford Market, examining the different shops and stalls, her lesson was one of visual association. Sinclair selected different tropes present in the market, identified their relationships to the redevelopment of Deptford, and recontextualised them with postcolonial analyses.
Dr Ricardo Leizaola — Decolonising Cuisine Ethnobotany in the UK
Location: Junction Market Off License, Walthamstow, London
Description: Dr Ricardo Leizaola academic, writer and filmmaker specialising in ethnobotany and traditional medicine acts as the shop keeper for the day at Junction Market in Walthamstow. Ricardo used fruits and vegetables as learning devices to explore the ethnobotanical journeys and networks of produce.
