Please take special note of the time and days this class meets. We live in an increasingly networked world. How did this come to be, and what does it mean to be so connected? "Networks & Connections" identifies multiple kinds of networks and the problems and opportunities that lie within them. We will explore the history of networks from built structures to the study of natural systems, techno-utopian ideals and science-fiction, social media and revolution, the shift from broadcast models to large scale participatory models of media creation, hierarchy and anarchy, art that engages in social practices, human rituals and social institutions, oppositional politics, and the varying global circulations of people and ideas. Analysis and discussion of these topics will start from multiple critical perspectives while considering a variety of social forms, experiences, and belief systems. Class time is divided between group lectures and customized group discussions.