Category Archives: Culture & Identity

What are the implications of technosecularism? (ETEC 531)

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What are the implications of technosecularism?

Secularism:

… is the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.

In Western cultures (even in debates where religious input would be most helpful such as human cloning or fetal research) religion is in retreat as part of civil discourse while science has captured the field.
The triumph of the secular in our culture is largely the result of the triumph of empirical science.
The spiritual self:

“Knowing, being and doing are inextricable. Who we are, and how we understand ourselves in terms of our relationship with Other and the context in which we find ourselves embedded affects how we act.” (Feng, 2005)

So, on the one hand, we want to look at technology objectively. On the other hand, we are “subjects” inevitably filtering our “objectivity” through various cultural, social and economical lenses (just to name a few).

Technology may be separated from religions, if we look at religions as institutions. However, when it comes down to the more general concept of “spirituality”, encompassing many religious belief systems, it is far more difficult to set technology apart.
My place in the universe / vs / the place of my computer go hand in hand. For me, after all, my computer doesn’t exist if I don’t exit.

Existentialism & responsibility:

Existentialism, as I see it, is a philosophy based on responsibility. Human beings are responsible for their actions and decisions (even if they may not be responsible for being there in the first place).

If we look at technology through the eyes of “responsibility”, the question becomes:
• how can we use technology responsibly?
• Does that not imply that we also need to use technology compassionately? (compassion for the “robot” as much as for the “human”)

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism
http://www.firstprinciplesjournal.com/articles.aspx?article=738
Last edited on: July 14, 2009 2:42 PM

Compassion and responsibility

Responsibility refers to “consequences”
On the net, at this time, what is the ratio of discussion re: responsibility compared to, say, discussions on Paris Hilton? I bet you that Paris wins…
That’s where I get less “enthralled” with technology… I think that it gives people a chance to communicate freely…

Communicate what?

The question is: what are we talking about and why?

This does not necessarily come from “freedom” of expression… it often comes through “programming” from television and the same media we use to communicate.
The message first:

So, is technological change only superficial, when we look at it from a communication point of view?
Perhaps the role of the teacher is to constantly bring students back to the main issue: what do you have to say?

How might technoanimism alter our views on technology and spirituality?

Animism:

• The term is derived from the Latin word anima meaning breath or soul.
• In anthropology it’s used to classify religious belief systems in which both animate and inanimate objects have souls or spirits.
• More generally, it is a world view that spiritual life permeates all things

Many researchers have indicated and innate human propensity – and even willingness – to attribute non-human objects with human-like characteristics and intelligence, even when we know fully well the objects are not human.

As the internet gains ground, and ideas of cyberspace arise, we see the collective unconscious asserting itself with a technological parallel world alongside the physical…

We are beginning to see cyberspace as a fantasy-laden realm separate to the physical, and we are filling it with all the symbolism that traces itself throughout our spiritual history.

“We have never been modern”, Latour.
References:
http://seniorproject.eu/resources/PETER_LUTZ.pdf
http://beyondtheblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/techno-animism/
Last edited on: July 14, 2009 2:26 PM

How different is collective prayer from collective intelligence on the Internet?

Maybe one of the differences is that praying, even collectively, creates a “silence” in one’s own… what shall I call it… heart, soul?

Whereas, collective intelligence creates “noise”… and the brain (mind) has more to do with it than the heart…
Hence this whole “secular vs spiritual” discussion…

DIGITAL FILM: Exploring Cultural Issues & Communication Studies (ETEC 531)

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Exploring Cultural Issues & Communication Studies through Digital Film Production

The themes developed in this presentation have been inspired by questions from: ETEC 531 – Module 1

  1. What is communication studies?
  2. What is cultural studies?
  3. What would a digital film production high school course, including communication and cultural studies, look like if I were to design one?
This digital film asks: 
  1. How can digital film production focus on communication rather than technology?
  2. How can digital film communication include cultural studies?

Please right click and choose “open in new tab”.

Film: Exploring communication & culture through digital film production 

DIGITAL FILM: Exploring media studies through digital film communication (ETEC 531)

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Exploring Media Studies through Digital Film Communication

  • Digital film communication offers an effective way of analyzing the artificial reality presented by the media.
  • Through media studies, students learn to appreciate the spin involved when publishing media content by experiencing the technological process involved in movie making.

Video (on YouTube):

(Please right click to “open in new tab”)

 Film:Exploring media studies through digital film communication

DIGITAL FILM: Am I an Artist? (ETEC 531)

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Am I an Artist?

Here is a short 2 minute film about this theme.

In short:

  • My students create messages that are clear, that deal with social issues and that they can share with their peers to contribute to society.
  • In some ways, what they do is artistic: they use lighting, sound and original concepts.
  • Questioning society is an important part of being an artist.
  • We use creative ways to convey our messages.

Have fun!:  

Am I an Artist?

Of: Third nature; knowledge as a commodity; free of computers? (ETEC 531)

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Of: Third nature; knowledge as a commodity; free of computers?

What implications might follow when we speak of technology as Third Nature?

First, let’s define “third nature”.

First nature:

as used in farming landscape

Second nature:

city landscape

Third nature:

information landscape

Implications:

Possible negative aspect:

·         We lost contact with our physical environment

·         Cultural pollution, loss of community

Possible positive aspect:

·         The same technology that separated us from the environment may actually reconnect us with it due to the power of the media.

·         Gain of a different kind of community (cyberspace)

·         Creation of new types of culture (world cyberspace cultures?)



What reasons might Lyotard have for bringing up the crisis of legitimation of knowledge?

When knowledge becomes a commodity, it loses some of its value. Also, productivity and “performativity” (Lyotard) are not compatible with a world inhabited by humans. Human beings need art, leisure, silliness, fun… which brings along creativity, innovation, fresh ideas.

I agree with Lyotard when he equates technological development with:

Sophistication

Imagination

and

inventiveness

 

Is it possible (or not) to break free of the totalizing effect of computer-controlled environments?

“I’ve been colonized” (Rheingold, Culture and technology, p. 202)

I think that his statement sums it up very accurately. We live with computers, whether we like it or not. Either we learn to use them, preferably creatively and peacefully, or we are out.

This machine driven world implies isolation, generalization and it also means a creation of smaller communities, with their own political discourses (the “petit récit).

Cyberdemocracy has become visible in the horizon with the rise of the Internet. Various discussion groups can be decentralized and are less easy to control for big governments.

CMCs (computer mediated communities) have become a reality. They are bound to generate many new ideas… will they be able to gel and change social barriers that create the disparities of our world?

Feminism & technology (ETEC 511)

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Feminism & Technology

  • What is: “masculinization” of the internet?
  • Feminization: rise of social networking on the internet to women
  • Jobs that were only done by men, are now also performed by women.
  • MMI ( man machine interface ) now it is called HMI ( human machine interface )
  • Think Oprah
  • the feminization and masculinization of the Internet is not generally noticeable
  •  if the Internet was broken down into specific cyber cultures, then the differences would be apparent like in gaming cultures that tend to be more male-oriented.
  • Do women (or men) mask their gender based on the types of online environments they visit?

One Laptop Per Child (ETEC 510)

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One Laptop Per Child

I found it very interesting to read that India had decided not to buy any $100 laptops, saying it preferred to spend the money on teachers and more traditional teaching tools.

Also, their skepticism in regards to the pilot project is definitely valid. If we are to “design social futures”, as we read in the Harvard Educational Review, we need to know where we are going before implementing technological changes, especially when it affects many countries.

What made me wonder?

What jumped at me was “[…] India’s education secretary […] said the project was “pedagogically suspect” and giving the country’s schoolchildren a laptop each could harm their creative thinking and analytical abilities.”
That’s a thought that I would not have had myself, at least recently. Perhaps ten years ago, I would also have expressed doubts. But now that I am so used to functioning with technology with almost everything I do, I tend to look at it as “pedagogically sound and excellent to develop critical and creative thinking”.

I guess that the trick is not so much the technology per say, but also how we use the technology. Of course, if we spend all our time “teaching the technology” instead of using it to learn, one can suspect that this is not educationally sound. Poorer regions may find themselves dealing with this type of situation.
Developed countries may be underestimating the time it took us to get “technologically savvy”.

The problem is that, by waiting, like India has chosen to do, this problem does not go away. The “digital divide” augments.

The artificiality of media productions (ETEC 532)

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The Artificiality of Media Productions

  • What is seen on television, at the cinema or in the media in general is not objective reality, but rather scripted and carefully planned.

  • Students intuited the implications and the choices involved in constructing reality.

Responsibility and Self-expression:

  • making movies empowers students to tell their stories while also taking responsibility for their contributions.

  • Students participate actively in their own learning.

  • Digital film communication technologies introduce them “to a brand new world” of self-reflection, active responsibility and social contribution.

Critical Thinking:

  • The video gave the children the opportunity to think critically when talking about the purpose of a photograph.
  • Abstract concepts were easier to explore because children could connect them  with a photo.

Beneficial for teachers:

  • A simple way of using a technology, like this film, is a great way to give educators some confidence in their ability to guide students.

The Experience is:

  • Engaging
  • Empowering
  • Constructive
  • Insightful
  • Necessary nowadays (use of digital film)
  • Interactive

The experience can:

  • Trigger reflections, memories, emotions
  • Transmit cultural values and view points
  • Help students discover their abilities (know that they know)
  • Build a sense of community

Types of productions:

  • Document students’ work
  • Analyze speech and non verbal communication
  • Portfolios
  • Documentaries (docu-drama; mockumentaries; etc.)
  • Narratives
  • Public Service Announcements
  • Music Videos
  • Experimental / artistic films
  • Video Yearbook

Picture day: constructing reality (ETEC 532)

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Constructing Reality

One of the main educational benefits in producing the film “Picture Day ” sConstructing realitytems from the realization that what is seen on television, at the cinema or in the media in general is not objective reality, but rather scripted and carefully planned.

At the elementary level, it may be challenging to delve in the more abstract discussions of who controls the scenarios and what values are being promoted. However, to a very simple degree, Tussing Elementary School students intuited the implications and the choices involved in constructing reality. 

Responsibility and Self-expression:

As the mastermind behind the digital film communication program in my school, and having taught film production for more than 15 years, I believe that one of the most important advantages of making movies is that students are empowered to tell their stories while also taking responsibility for their contributions. With the hands-on approach including the opportunity to film, interview their peers, and edit their film, students participate actively in their own learning.

Whether students create a film for a social studies class; for a service trip in which they participated during spring break; for a school assembly promoting a positive social behavior; or for an athletic club, digital film communication technologies introduce them to a brand new world of self-reflection, active responsibility and social contribution. 

Cyborgs, body, info & technology (ETEC 531)

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Cyborgs, body, info & technology

Some of the information I found fascinating:

  • A women invented computer programming!
  • The redefinition of gender with technological innovations
  • Self-organizing machines

When I think of AL (artificial Life) and of networked systems that cooperate in order to evolve, it makes me nervous. I know that we already live with these systems, but I must admit that I am ignorant of many of their more simple applications. Or, if I know that I use such systems every day, I have become accustomed to them.

Human being are very adaptable. To what extend will we adapt to our technological developments?

Should it not be the technology that adapts to humans though?

I guess this brings us back to the utopia / dystopia problem.

Can we trust our own creations? Will nanobots invade us or cure our ills? Shall we just believe in the will of “God”… the ultimate “system organizer”?

Science fiction & ethical problems (ETEC 531)

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How does sci-fi contribute to highlighting ethical problems related to the implementation of new technologies?

What I find particularly interesting was the influence of sci-fi on the values that we attribute to science and technology.

Frankly, I had not really questioned the “dystopia” that is most often transmitted in SF films. Due to the proliferation of nuclear technology and other types of weaponry that is bound to eventually cause mass destruction, the idea of technology turning against humans seems very plausible (unfortunately).

On the other hand, I would rather believe in the “Star Trek” utopia of poverty having been overcome; equal opportunity hierarchy and faithful androids. But, this version of SF seems less likely to happen.

I am now reading a book called: Wake, from a Canadian writer. It is about the Internet developing a consciousness. At this point, it is neither a utopia, nor a dystopia… In terms of simulacra (Baudrillard), I think that the story  pertains to the third category: simulation. It explores hyperreality… but it does not aim for full control… yet.

How do you see SF in relation to the problems that we face in our world?

Neural pathways and the autopoiesis of life (ETEC 531)

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Neural pathways and the autopoiesis of life

  • Connectionist model:
    • implies that machines might eventually attain consciousness if the networks can learn autopoietically (the unit of cognition is no longer located in self but within the larger context in which the self is located).
  • However, human design the machines and have an influence on their content and structure.

Arising questions:

Could a collective intelligence  emerge through networking?

  • How does this new “collective intelligence” diverge from the self-organizing principles held by Maturana and Varela?
  • Is the collective “intelligence” related to the “collective unconscious”?

I love languages and seem to pick them up easily.

When I travel, I often start using works and expressions that I don’t seem to have learned formally before. One could say that my brain just unconsciously grasped this vocabulary while hearing conversations.

But it seems to be more than that. I have often explained this phenomenon by saying that I was connecting to the collective unconscious.

When I was in West Africa, I learned the language of the Mossi people (Mooré: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossi) that way.

Interestingly, it only happens when I am physically present in the country. I don’t experience this online, for example.

  • Have you ever had such experiences?
  • Do you think that computers could connect to this “collective unconscious” through the Internet, for example?

Technology & consciousness (ETEC 531)

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Key themes and terminologies

Technology changes thought and thought changes technology

  • Chess-playing computer, asserting that technology can be more intelligent than humans;
  • Theories emphasizing the importance of emotions when defining conscientiousness;
  • The essence of technology defined as not “technological”, but rather a way of “reveiling” (Heidegger);
  • Wondering whether thinking happens inside or outside?

Pondering about the effects of on the way we:

  • relax (tv, videos, DVDs…);
  • travel (planes, cars, etc.);
  • experience relationships (sex: contraception, etc.).

Presenting a relationship between thought and technology:

  • the pen, the word processor influence what we think, what we write…
  • Critiques argue that our language is being computerized (Heim, 1993).

Culture and Technology (ETEC 531)

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Culture and Technology

  1. Key themes and terminologies

This chapter’s essential theme is that technology changes thought and thought changes technology.

 

Some highlights:

 

·         Chess-playing computer, asserting that technology can be more intelligent than humans;

 

·         Theories emphasizing the importance of emotions when defining conscientiousness;

 

·         The essence of technology defined as not “technological”, but rather a way of “reveiling” (Heidegger);

 

·         Wondering whether thinking happens inside or outside?

 

·         Pondering about the effects of on the way we:

o   relax (tv, videos, DVDs…);

o   travel (planes, cars, etc.);

o   experience relationships (sex: contraception, etc.).

 

·         Presenting a relationship between thought and technology:

o   the pen, the word processor influence what we think, what we write…

o   Critiques argue that our language is being computerized (Heim, 1993).

 

2.      Neural pathways and the autopoiesis of life

 

·         Connectionist model: implies that machines might eventually attain consciousness if the networks can learn autopoietically (the unit of cognition is no longer located in self but within the larger context in which the self is located).

 

·         However, human design the machines and have an influence on their content and structure.

 

3.      Arising questions:

Could a collective intelligence  emerge through networking?

·         How does this new “collective intelligence” diverge from the self-organizing principles held by Maturana and Varela?

 

·         Is the collective “intelligence” related to the “collective unconscious”?

I love languages and seem to pick them up easily.

When I travel, I often start using works and expressions that I don’t seem to have learned formally before. One could say that my brain just unconsciously grasped this vocabulary while hearing conversations.

But it seems to be more than that. I have often explained this phenomenon by saying that I was connecting to the collective unconscious.

When I was in West Africa, I learned the language of the Mossi people (Mooré: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossi) that way.

Interestingly, it only happens when I am physically present in the country. I don’t experience this online, for example.

·         Have you ever had such experiences?

 

·         Do you think that computers could connect to this “collective unconscious” through the Internet, for example?

Postmodern art & postmodern technology (ETEC 531)

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If there is postmodern art is there postmodern technology?

One characteristic of postmodern art is its conflation of high and low culture through the use of industrial materials and pop culture imagery.

Manet (the painter) violated traditional art’s view that reality and representation, design and representation, abstraction and reality, mutual exclude each other. He incorporated “paradox”.

One definition is that postmodernism rejects modernism’s grand narratives of artistic direction, eradicating the boundaries between high and low forms of art, and disrupting genre’s conventions with collision, collage, and fragmentation.

Example

Second life:

It allows the users to create their own “grand narrative”.

Perhaps the paradox is that “players” are entrenched in a technological paradigm that they do not necessarily perceive nor fully comprehend. They are “free to choose” which character they want to be. On the other hand, Second Life is part of a system, a web of technological processes that shape people’s choices.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_art#Defining_postmodern_art