Beyond Consensus - Protocols as Digital Institutions - Martin Harrigan

Martin Harrigan, a lecturer and researcher in cryptography and blockchains at Southeastern Technological University, discusses integrating protocol studies into computer science education as a way to broaden students' understanding of what types of protocols can be created using blockchain and decentralized systems. He argues for placing protocol studies at the conceptual center of blockchain education, between technical infrastructure (networks, consensus) and applications (smart contracts, DeFi).

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Lecture

Kickoff

The Protocol School 2025 kickoff session introduces a three-year research program funded by the Ethereum Foundation that studies protocols broadly across history and cultures. The organizers present their 'homecoming' challenge of connecting protocol research to the crypto ecosystem while maintaining interdisciplinary engagement, positioning protocols as invisible infrastructures (like water) that shape society but escape notice.

crypto-humanities-bridge homecoming-framework interdisciplinary-protocol-studies

Nov 2025

Tim, Timber

Lecture

Applied Protocol Thinking - Timber Stinson-Schroff

Timber Stinson-Schroff presents Applied Protocol Thinking as a capstone course for Protocol School 2025, offering practical frameworks and literacies for participants to apply protocol analysis in their everyday lives. Drawing on nearly three years of research including his study of occupational health and safety protocols in coal mining, Stinson-Schroff shares methodologies for recognizing and analyzing how organizations use protocols to create value, manage uncertainty, and advance their missions.

literacies-and-lenses meso-level-analysis organizational-protocol-use

Nov 2025

Timber Stinson-Schroff

Talk

Guest Talk with Jesse Walden | Contract Theory and Protocol Design

Jesse Walden, founder of Variant and former creator of Mediachain, discusses contract theory and its application to protocol design. Drawing on his experience bridging music, technology, and crypto, Walden explores how smart contracts and tokens enable novel organizational and governance structures distinct from traditional legal contracts and corporate forms.

digital-asset-frameworks guest-talks organizational-design

Jun 2023

Jesse Walden