Anarchist U Frequently Asked Questions

What is Anarchist U?

The Anarchist U is an open, volunteer-run, non-hierarchical collective that organizes community events, workshops and a variety of courses on arts and sciences. Most courses run for ten weeks, and meet once a week. There are no admission fees.

We offer an open, collaborative, radical way of learning built on democratic models of education, structure and process. We are working to build a vibrant and productive community free from the struggles for power, profit and prestige that are the consequences of existing social and economic structures. The AFU also acts as a space that critiques the ongoing forms of oppression that result from this.

Where is Anarchist U located?

Anarchist U is in Toronto ON, Canada. There is no single street address; rather different classes and meetings take place in different community centres and homes throughout the city.

Our general meetings usually take place at the 519 Church St. Community Centre

Here are some places where AFU classes have taken place in the past:

• Bike Pirates: 457 Bathurst St.
• The Centre for Social Innovation: 215 Spadina Ave.
• OISE The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education: 252 Bloor Street West

Do you offer online courses?

No. All courses are run non-virtually, classroom style, although some of them may have online components to them. Please ask individual facilitators for details.

What's up with the two names (ie Anarchist Free University and AnarchistU)?

In some places on this website our school is referred to as the Anarchist Free University, and in other places as AnarchistU. Since before our first class, both names have been in use. In an early meeting the name for the school was discussed, and two names were agreed upon. The school's official main name is the Anarchist Free University, and its official nickname is AnarchistU.

What's an anarchist school?

Our existence is a never-ending answer to that question. There have been many excellent anarchist critiques of the institution of public education. Some of them can be found on our Resources page.

What's a free school?

Anarchist U is a free school. Of course, many schools are free of charge. However--to paraphrase Richard Stallman--to understand the concept of "free school" you should think of "free" as in "free speech," not as in "free beer." Free schools are schools that allow and facilitate students to pursue their goals in ways that work for them. "Students" are not forced to learn anything. "Teachers" are seen as resources of knowledge and facilitators of resources rather than as authoritarian figures. There has been a long tradition of free schools. For more information, you can take a look at the Free School entry on Wikipedia, or simply link to our Resources page.

So is there a fee?

No. Anarchist U is free of charge. In some classes students may have to cover for the price of books and photocopies. The total cost should be under $30 per class.

How does the AFU work?

The structure and functioning of the AFU has evolved slowly over time through the process of consensus decision-making. The results, which are still open as always to critique and amendment by the public at our General Meetings, can be found on our Procedures page.

Do I have to be an anarchist?

No. Our school is indeed run using various anarchist principles. These principles include consensus decision-making, decentralized organizing, and a non-hierarchical structure in classes and meetings. For details on the operating principles of the General Meetings and the procedure for proposing courses, events or workshops, please consult our Procedures page. These procedures have developed over time by the community with consensus decisions made at our General Meetings. Students and teachers are asked to respect these methodologies in classes and meetings, but are not expected to consider themselves anarchists.

Can I attend any classes?

Absolutely! Check the CoursesOffered to see what you want to take when. Contact the instructor. Have fun.

Will I get a degree?

No. These courses are for people interested in education and community for its own sake. However, in terms of career, the AFU offers all the career benefits of networking beyond the mainstream academic community and you will certainly not accumulate debt.

Can I teach-a-course / hold-a-workshop / organize-an-event at the AFU?

Thanks for the offer! We welcome you to come to our monthly General Meeting where proposals are tabled, discussed and decided upon by consensus. The AFU depends on the efforts of people like you to make us a vibrant, diverse community. We do our best to maintain that diversity with the courses we offer, so we welcome a wide variety of formats and subject matter. There are some instances, however, where the community has had to suspend some proposals for retooling. This is usually the case if the proposal falls short of the community standards of quality (lack of detail, planning, or coherence), or if the content of the proposed course or workshop conflicts with community values such as diversity, openness, and respect. Because of our methodology, things such as these are expressed organically within the community, and are not contained in any sort of rigid or permanent ideology or doctrine. However, the chances of having a thought-out and well prepared course, workshop or event accepted is extremely high. For proposal procedures, please refer to our Procedures page.

What some other ways are of getting involved with the AFU?

Besides showing up at General Meetings, you might want to consider joining one or more of the AFU's several committees which are devoted to various specific undertakings. These committees communicate via email and occasionally get together in person to enact some of the AFU's initiatives. We would love your help!

Also, there are a handful of rotating administrative positions that become open to new volunteers on a periodic basis. For descriptions of these tasks, as well at the dates when they become open, please see the Administration page.

It's a nice website you have here, how do I edit it?

Ideally this website is maintained by the community. Here's a short introduction to the platform it's run on and how to edit/contribute to it:
Editing Anarchist U Twiki

I signed up to a committee and nothing seems to be going on. What's happening?

It's quite common for some of the committees to lie dormant until a new project gets proposed. Then your inbox will suddenly become flooded with all sorts or organizing banter. We encourage you to plunge into the silence and be the first to take the initiative in any undertaking you might feel is appropriate for the committee, or show up to a General Meeting and propose it there.