July 2026 Digest
Curated content for zine lovers.
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Despite my best efforts to relax my nervous system this summer, I did have to travel to North Carolina for a three-day conference related to my job. (My real job, that is, not my fake internet job where people randomly pay me $5 when they feel like it. Subscribe today.) This was the ASEE National Conference where I would immerse myself in the world of engineering education.
I am a strong believer in the power of zines, so I was there to present my own work on zine syllabi and give a workshop on using zines as teaching tools. My workshop collaborator and I were even featured on TV about it!
The paper I presented at the conference was titled "This Syllabus Is For You: Enhancing Student Engagement and Inclusivity through Zines". I lay out a brief literature review on the syllabus as a site of struggle and opportunity for genuine student engagement, then I explain why I made my Process Control course syllabus into a zine, then I review the results of a pilot study I carried out last fall. You can download the full paper, as well as the zine itself, on my website.
Later in the conference, I hosted a workshop on zines as engineering education tools with my collaborator, Kaylla Cantalina from Northeastern University. Over the course of two hours, our workshop participants each made a zine of their own, and considering that more than 30 people showed up on the last day of the conference (when most were catching their flights home), I'd say it was a smashing success!
In terms of the zines that were made, there were a range of topics from academic to personal, but my very favorite was this zine about how cowboys become engineers.
Take this as your sign to make a zine today. The sillier the better. This trip was very tiring, but getting to make stuff with people is what heals me, so it was all worth it.
Now, onto the digest!
Science
- A new research publication on collaborative action against climate change. Climate resilience hubs have been a thing for a while, and you may already live near one!
- Compiled resources on doing systems thinking.
- Compiled resources on how using AI can harm you (plus a new opinion piece on the subject)
Opinions
- An excellent piece on how the internet shapes the way we do discourse. Been saying this!!
- An accurate summary of the modern gender system by a transfeminist author (who also makes zines!)
- A history of the scapegoating of trans people by fascists.
- A stunning piece on AI in education from the student perspective.
- A compelling essay about how capitalism doesn't need humans anymore. I guess my main critique would be that our economic system, including those who "improve" AI and review social media posts for harmful content, relies on the invisibilized labor of people in the global south.
Watch History
- An exciting new indie animation, SORRY ABOUT THE MESS by Cassie Workman, has a trailer and Kickstarter! I spoke to Cassie for a podcast literal years ago so I'm excited to support the project.
- An essay about the relationship between class and American aesthetics with The Backrooms as a narrative throughline.
- A brief look on how I Love Boosters was filmed. The movie was also amazing!
Bops, Vibes, & Jams
Added to my CD collection lately: underscores' U, Isiah Rashad's It's Been Awful, Ratboys' Singing' to an Empty Chair, and Olivia Rodrigo's you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Oh, and the Deltarune Chapter 5 soundtrack, of course.
Wholesomeposting
This is a new digest category where I plan to post memes and other fun stuff. For example...
And now, your monthly Koko.
That’s all for now! Expect another Digest at the start of August.
In solidarity,
-Anna
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