School
for
Poetic
Computation
All software programs contain “machine language”—the low-level digital code to which machines can respond directly. For this class, “machine language” will also refer to the ways in which we communicate to and through machines. This class seeks to expand our critical and creative understandings of how our communications with machines occur, and to create agency to influence or redirect how these interactions shape our comprehension of ourselves, each other, and our worlds. Throughout this class, we’ll frame our examinations through three lenses: computation, assembly, and hardware dependency. In what ways does constant interfacing with a multiplicity of machines contour our sensory perceptions, informational structures, and bodily abilities? How do we identify and interrogate our sociotechnical imaginaries in ways which recognize our entangled relationships? How might we better understand the machine languages that surround us, and how might we start to build alternatives? Weekly readings, in-class discussion, example projects, and creative prompts will all be used as we explore our personal and collective relationship to machine language.
No specific technical experience is required.
This class may be for you if you:
This class may NOT be for you if you:
Sherri Wasserman is a multidisciplinary collaborator who constructs experiences at the intersections of physical, technological, and informational landscapes. She makes things for print, digital, and architectural/environmental spaces, creating content-rich exhibitions, installations, publications, websites, knowledge management and communications systems, and mobile apps for wide-ranging audiences. In addition to her experience on projects ranging from individual artist partnerships to initiatives for major institutions, she has a background in visual art and history (Oberlin College), design and programming for emerging technologies (ITP at NYU), and science and technology studies (ASU’s Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology PhD program). Her work increasingly focuses on expanding collective survivability through engagement with complex systems, sustainability principles, ethical documentary and design practices, and futures methods.
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Yeli is a Nigerian artist, writer, and technologist based in Brooklyn. She primarily makes things that live on the internet. She is interested in the creative and critical possibilities of the web and data: its potentials for personal expression, solidarity and fostering disillusionment.
she/her
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Jaylyn is an interdisciplinary artist who follows their creative impulses wherever they lead, embracing curiosity over specialization. Her explorations span filmmaking, food, 3D modeling, writing, and design. With a love for observing the world and imagining new possibilities, she is passionate about uncovering the social underpinnings of her favorite subjects—film, video games, and pop music—and how their broad appeal shapes and reflects our world. Her work often explores connection, intimacy, and technology. Jaylyn was a contributing artist to the Open Source Afro Hair Library, a project dedicated to improving representation of Afro-textured hair in video gaming and fostering community among Black artists.
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Taylor Levy [pron. tey-ler] is an artist & designer with a penchant for taking things apart, understanding how they work, and then putting them back together in a way that exposes their inner workings.The results take on a variety of forms from low-tech electronic sculpture to high-tech software & other executions. She has work on view at The Leonardo Museum of Science and Technology and was a resident at Fabrica Interactive in Treviso, Italy. She is an alumna of MIT Media Lab, ITP at NYU, and Vassar College.
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Leonard is an O’odham writer, researcher, and technologist, digging into the ways stories and systems shape the world. Whether it’s history, data, or culture, he believe that the way we tell our stories influences everything from the policies that govern us to the technologies we use every day.
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Sands Fish, is a future-focused experience designer with a deep background in technology.
Working across a diverse set of design contexts, he creates refined experiences, services, and interfaces, and develops novel interaction designs, working across hardware, firmware, and software. He leads multi-disciplinary teams and is experienced in managing projects that require the integration of multiple design goals and technologies.
Recently, he was part of a team at The Mill responsible for building a large interactive game installation for Nike's 5th Avenue store in New York City, where he was responsible for real-time data visualizations and experience design.
At the MIT Space Exploration Initiative, he contributes to the Initiative's vision by leading ideation workshops, prototyping and fabricating electronic objects that fly in zero gravity, and directing design research with astronauts. As part of this work, he interfaces with brands that are interested in exploring the possibilities of space exploration. He has an active design practice that explores digital fabrication techniques, graphic design, physical computing, and electronics design. He speaks and teaches internationally.
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Liz Dietz is a postdoctoral fellow in bioethics and the history of genomics in the federal government. Their research examines the way that people with conflicting underlying values use (and fight over) fundamental concepts, like "informed consent" and "medical necessity" and "sex," with a particular focus on the intersection of disability and gender.
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Che-Wei Wang [pron. sey-wey] is an artist, designer & architect with expertise in computational and generative design, fabrication technologies, electronics, CNC machining, and metal manufacturing. The results range from architecture & sculpture to interactive installations & mobile apps. He is the winner of the 2003 SOM fellowship and the Young Alumni Achievement Award from Pratt Institute. Che-Wei has taught courses on design, time, creative computing, and inflatables, at various institutions. He is an alumnus of MIT Media Lab, ITP at NYU, and Pratt Institute.
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Applications open until Applications closed on November 17, 2025.
You can expect to hear back from us about the status of your application on December 9, 2025. Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you have.
For 10 classes, it costs $1200 + $39.24 in processing fees, for a one-time payment. We also offer payment plans. Participants can schedule monthly payments of the same amount. First and last payments must be made before the start and end of class. *Processing fees apply for each payment.
SFPC processes all payments via Withfriends and Stripe. Please email admissions@sfpc.study if these payment options don't work for you.
For more information about what we look for in applicants, scholarships, and other frequently asked questions, please visit our applicant FAQ.
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