Join us for our Summer Seminars 2026, “Craft, Design, and the Machine in Modern Life,” a six-part online lecture series!

Led by SMCF Executive Director Jonathan Clancy, Ph.D., this series explores a series of conversations spanning the Arts and Crafts movement to contemporary debates about technology and AI, where we invite you to explore what design means, what it can accomplish, and how the relationship between machines and culture continues to shape our lives. Together, these seminars use moments from history not as a comprehensive narrative, but as opportunities to learn, reflect, and engage in the important discussions that the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms seeks to foster.

Lectures may be purchased individually or as a complete series. Click here for the full course description.

Week #1: June 20, at 1:00 PM EDT via Zoom
Craft, Machine, and Man (or Morris and the Making of Meaning)

“As a condition of life, production by machinery is altogether an evil; as an instrument for forcing on us better conditions of life it has been, and for some time yet will be, indispensable.” – William Morris, “The Revival of Handicraft,” 1888

“To distinguish between the different ways of carrying out an operation by classifying them as hand- or machine-work is, as we shall see, all but meaningless.”
– David Pye, The Nature and Art of Workmanship, 1968.

What we mean by craft–and indeed what we admire about examples of it–is often constrained by ideas we have about mechanization, the need for unity between artist and maker, and beliefs we have about what the Arts and Crafts movement meant to consumers and practitioners in the period. Even today, many frame William Morris as a kind of decorative Luddite to model oneself after, ignoring writings about the machine that are far more nuanced and complicated. In this session, we’ll think through the Arts and Crafts in England exploring the degree to which misunderstandings continue to shape our impression of it. And, we’ll learn to look with the critical eye of a maker like David Pye whose writings still form an important lens through which to think about craft, process, and materials.

A La Carte
Member Price: $30 / session
Non-Member Price: $35 / session

Full Course
Member Price: All 6 sessions for $150 (one session free)
Non-Member Price: All 6 sessions for $210

Registration is required. Once registered and paid, you will receive an email prior to each session with a link to join.

Do you have a scheduling conflict for the live session? You can still enjoy the program. Register and we’ll send you the recording! All paid attendees will be emailed a private link to the session recording when it is available, typically 6-7 days after the live program.

Missed us? You can also register retroactively. If you register for a session that has passed, you’ll receive access to the recording when it is ready.

Haven’t tried a session yet? Each session is planned as a “stand-alone” lecture, so you can take them all or attend the topics that interest you most.