To mark the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, professor Roxanne Panchasi of 丁香园AV History decided to do something different. She launched La Commune 2021, a virtual free school created in partnership with artist Britt Bachmann and the UNITT/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness, an artist-run non-profit organization that has been operating in the Chinatown, Downtown Eastside and Gastown neighbourhoods of Vancouver since 1975.
The free school lasted 10 weeks 鈥� just like the 10 week span of the original 1871 uprising 鈥� and explored the history of the Paris Commune through thematic modules, such as the Commune and colonialism, the role of women, and the role of art & artists during the Commune. Each week鈥檚 鈥榗lass鈥� began with a selection of readings, both primary sources and historical as well as modern commentary, and was anchored around an episode of Radio 1871 鈥� a series of podcast-style interviews that took listeners on a deep dive into that week鈥檚 theme with Panchasi and various experts on the history of the Commune. Participants were alerted by email when a new 鈥榳eek鈥� of material was available, as well as to relevant Commune-themed events hosted by UNITT/PITT and other organizations marking the 150th anniversary.