Virtual Viewing Group: The Big Damn Firefly Discussion
Students For Liberty leaders have organized countless Virtual Reading Groups where a handful of students meet online every week for a discussion of pre-assigned readings, facilitated by an expert in the field. Dozens and dozens of students around the globe have benefitted from these collaborative explorations into important literature. Now, more than ever, these open and tolerant spaces of discourse are needed for students to dive deep into the weeds and come out on the other side having reaped mutual intelectual rewards.
With that in mind, we are proud to announce Students For Liberty’s first ever Virtual Viewing Group, where students can discuss the themes and ideas presented in popular television shows and movies, along with related readings, that might offer insight for libertarians and classical liberals.
Joss Whedon’s Firefly explores a science fiction universe caught between the space age and the Wild West. It is rich in economic content and in discussions of issues important to classical liberals. This Virtual Viewing Group will consider 5 episodes of Firefly as well as the movie Serenity in order to explore those themes. It will be jointly led by Sarah Skwire and Steve Horwitz.
Each session will consider one episode paired with readings from contemporary or historical scholars that will serve to deepen our understanding of some of these central issues. But we will also range widely through the Firefly universe. There will be time and space, in other words, for some thrilling heroics.
If you participate in this Virtual Viewing Group, you are responsible for finding a means to watch the required episodes and movie. Firefly and its accompanying movie Serenity are available for streaming on Hulu, which is probably the most convenient method.