''Bad Subjects'' (more formally ''Bad Subjects: Political Education For Everyday Life'' and sometimes ''The Bad Subjects Collective'') was a research

collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The f ...

that operated generally out of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

as part of the

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

electronic publishing cooperative EServer.org. Together, the collaborative created and published an online

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

of cultural and

political criticism Political criticism, also referred to as political commentary or political discussion, is a type of criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also * ...

to promote public education about the political implications of everyday life. It was founded at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

in September 1992 as a collection of leftist critiques of identity politics and popular culture written by college students and published as a

Gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

service. ''Bad Subjects'' may have been the longest continuously running publication on the internet.Jester, Barbara. (December 9, 1997) New York University Office of Public Affairs.
Bad Subjects: Political Education For Everyday Life, New Book Out From NYU Press.
' Obtained June 6, 2007.

History

The cultural

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

''Bad Subjects'' was started at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in September 1992 by founding editors Joe Sartelle, Annalee Newitz, and Charlie Bertsch. They were joined by John Brady and Joel Schalit in 1994. By 1996, after founding contributor Steven Rubio built a

site, ''Bad Subjects'' was both an online and hard copy academic publication. In 1998, ''Bad Subjects'' was identified as a celebrated

cultural studies Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...

magazine on the Internet. Also in the same year, ''Bad Subjects'' founded a small educational nonprofit corporation, to promote the progressive use of new media and print publications. The group co-authored two books, entitled ''Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life'' and ''Collective Action: A Bad Subjects Anthology''. In 2001, the webzine's popularity had grown to where it was seen by some as the West Coast's answer to the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

-based journal '' The Baffler''. The collective published 4-6 issues per year and also featured regular editorials and

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

s of a wide range of media. The site offered twenty-five years of back content for free online.Lewis-Kraus, Gideon. (May 1, 2007)

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

. ''A world in three aisles.'' Volume 314; Issue 1884; Page 47. The stated goal of ''Bad Subjects'' was to revitalize what it termed "a progressive politics in retreat". The group claimed to challenge political

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

by encouraging readers to think about the political dimension to all aspects of everyday life and sought to broaden the audience for

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

and progressive writing, through a commitment to accessibility and contemporary relevance. ''Bad Subjects'' had a large number of contributors, contributing editors and production team members, including Ana Marie Cox, Arturo Aldama, Joe Lockard, Jonathan Sterne, Matt Wray, Megan Shaw Prelinger, Tamara Watkins, Joseph Natoli, Mike Mosher, Molly Hankwitz, Adam Cornford, and Thomas Powell. The last issue was published in early 2017. After a period of problems with its presentation and navigation, the site disappeared without explanation in 2019.

References

External links

Article About ''Bad Subjects''
in the ''Online Journalism Review'' (2005) {{Authority control Alternative magazines American news websites Cultural magazines published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1992 Magazines disestablished in 2017 Magazines published in the San Francisco Bay Area Publishing collectives Weekly magazines published in the United States