[Air-l] impressions?

[DJ Smith]

 If you're pushing 50 or beyond, think of television: it was always 
there and the big thrill wasn't TV, it was when Color TV came out. Color 
TV was a novelty that was never present in my life, and it allowed me to 
do/see/experience things I never had the ability to do/see/experience 
before. Like the horse of a different color in Oz; I no longer had to 
imagine it--now I could really see it.

But TV? So?

In my research with nuns over 60, the marvel of a computer was the 
access the Internet allows and the ability a computer gives a person to 
develop things "perfectly" rather than "good enough" (word processing 
and lazer printing vs. ink drum copying.) For a person in this age 
bracket, it was their horse of a different color and the marvel of the 
thing was the reach it gave.

You're right--this begs lots of other questions. Perhaps it also 
requires life experience, reflection and perspective gained from living 
an expanse of life to see the macro-questions posed by technology--it's 
also a bit more subtle than the impact of globalization on the economy 
(and technology has it's contribution to that as well.)
--djs

Charles Ess wrote:

>Dear aoir-ists (like the Greek...)
>
>We're in the midst of finals grading, but I had a rather extraordinary
>experience with a class that has raised a question for me - or, rather, you
>(I hope).
>
>I teach a "Global Futures" course, the capstone of our general education
>curriculum (Global Perspectives) which restructures liberal arts education
>to focus squarely on becoming "liberated persons who participate
>meaningfully in a global community."
>We look at a lot of texts, ranging from Biblical and Islamic utopias to
>Plato's Republic to Erich Fromm's _To Have or To Be_ - all of which,
>somewhat to my surprise, the students really like.  (These are largely
>critical of consumer society - but the students see the criticisms and agree
>with them in varying degrees.)
>In that context, I've also been using an anthology by Erik Bucy, _Living in
>the Information Age: A Media Reader_ which offers a terrific selection of
>essays from a range of perspectives on a range of topics, including the role
>of the Internet in catalyzing a new revolution that would help realize
>Enlightenment dreams of greater democracy, freedom, and prosperity.
>
>My assumption was - in keeping with a lot of the common wisdom of higher
>education specialists, sociologists, etc. - that my students, as having
>grown up with the Internet and being deeply immersed in electronic media,
>would find these readings directly relevant to their lives.
>
>Imagine my surprise when my sections this year (fall '02 and spring '03)
>with near unaninimity (sp) agreed that this selection of readings could be
>dropped with no loss to the class!
>
>Their summary judgment: especially the more radical visions of the Internet
>and the Web (ala Barlow and many others) leading to a new Renaissance, etc.
>just seemed "so '90s"!
>
>For them, it appears that these technologies are utilitarian in the most
>boring of senses; precisely because they have grown up with them, they seem
>no more "revolutionary" than cars or telephones - even cellphones.  Rather,
>these technologies are really, merely tools for them.  While as a researcher
>and ethicist, I think there are all sorts of questions to be asked as to
>impacts of using these technologies - for them, these questions are far less
>pressing than examining the impacts of globalization on economies and the
>environment, for example.
>(And, FWIW, these are not, as a group, especially "liberal" students.)
>
>I've no idea if my students are representative of anything.  But I was
>_stunned_ by this - especially as it so sharply contrasts with the buzz and
>excitement about all of these things in other quarters..
>At the same time, it fits with a comment Phil Agre passed on a couple of
>years ago as we were discussing the apparent death of postmodernism.  I
>asked him why he thought it had passed, and his simple comment was: because
>the art students aren't interested in it anymore.
>
>This may just be an excuse to avoid grading papers and a waste of bandwidth
>- but I'm curious if this strikes a resonant chord with aoir folk who
>actually _research_ these things?
>
>Cheers,
>
>Charles Ess
>Distinguished Research Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies
>Drury University
>900 N. Benton Ave.                          Voice: 417-873-7230
>Springfield, MO  65802  USA            FAX: 417-873-7435
>Home page:  http://www.drury.edu/ess/ess.html
>Co-chair, CATaC: http://www.it.murdoch.edu.au/catac/
>
>Exemplary persons seek harmony, not sameness. -- Analects 13.23
>
>
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