Vermont Humanities: The Values of 242 Main

Vermont Humanities is offering a free speaker series, including a talk on March 6, 5-6pm ET, titled, ‘Not Just Punks & Recreation: The Values of 242 Main,’ info at https://www.vermonthumanities.org/event/not-just-punks-and-recreation/

Join Middlebury College Professor Linus Owens as he covers the history of 242 Main, an all-ages DIY punk club in Burlington. Although financially supported by the city government, the club was self-managed by the young artists. For over 30 years, the space provided value to organizers, the city, and the larger music scene by providing a safe place to experiment, learn new skills, and connect with people across the state and the world. Closed in 2016, 242 Main offers a model for how cities can support young residents, showing the continuing value of place and face-to-face relations and communities in today’s increasingly digital world.

Linus Owens teaches sociology at Middlebury College on a wide variety of topics, including social movements, digital technology, material culture, visual methods, and tourism. Before his current research on 242 Main and other DIY spaces, he wrote about anarchism, European squatters’ movements, and Halloween as a holiday celebrating emerging adulthood. He lives in Burlington with his partner and 2 cats, rides his bicycle as much as possible, and helps organize a local arts festival.

Learn more about this talk at https://www.vermonthumanities.org/event/not-just-punks-and-recreation/ and about the Vermont Humanities speaker series at https://www.vermonthumanities.org/series/snapshot/