This course is all about zines - self-published, small-distribution works comprised of text and images - and their cultural history in New York City. Drawing on cultural, social, political, anthropological, and design-oriented perspectives, we consider such topics as personal identity, fashion, music, youth culture, political dissidence, intersectional feminism, material culture, media studies, the DIY ethos, social justice, social control, and the intermingling of mainstream and alternative culture. We discuss both contemporary and historical developments in NYC zine culture, ranging from fanfiction and beat literature to the NYC punk and riot grrl scenes. Through engagement with this literature, a litany of zines, and visits to zine libraries and special collections in NYC, students learn to visually decipher and critically analyze alternative publications on a wide variety of subjects. Over the course of the semester, students embark on independent research on a topic particular to New York City zine culture, and groups work collaboratively to produce a final zine examining some aspect of NYC zine culture in detail. Open to: University undergraduate degree students, freshmen and sophomores only.