A Pragmatic Ecology of Education: Media Ecology as the Response to John Dewey’s "Experience and Education" in a Mediated World

Type of Presentation

Individual presentation

Brief Description of Presentation

The presentation will begin by offering a brief overview of Dewey’s educational theory, followed by an introduction into media ecology as a field, and after which the contributions of both Postman and McLuhan will be examined in relation to Dewey. After a brief discussion on the different solutions offered by Postman and McLuhan the presentation will conclude with a call for a reconceptualization of the role of information in the electronic age as well possible strategies and solutions which contribute towards solving the problems raised in the presentation.

Abstract of Proposal

This paper examines the relationship between John Dewey, in his work Experience and Education (1938), and the work of media ecologists Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan in regards to calling for a reexamination of educational foundations. The paper demonstrates that both McLuhan and Postman’s work on media education can be interpreted as an extension of and a response to the work of American pragmatist John Dewey. In particular, this paper reconciles Dewey’s call for experience based education to the longstanding tradition within media ecology of addressing the need for a critical examination of educational foundations and structures.

While both McLuhan and Postman take differing approaches to media education, both scholars’ work seeks to address the question of how education occurs which was of central importance to Dewey's work. This paper examines how media ecology as a discipline can serve to enrich a pragmatic approach to education through a critical examination of the foundations on which modern education based.

The goal of this paper is to introduce educational and critical theorists to the field of media ecology in order to begin a dialogue that can enrich the research and activism of all disciplines involved. Further, by appreciating the increasingly complex networked and mediated world in which students live, this paper puts forth suggestions which offer students the chance to critically examine the mediated environments in which they inhabit.

Location

Coastal Georgia Center

Start Date

3-26-2016 12:50 PM

End Date

3-26-2016 2:20 PM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 26th, 12:50 PM Mar 26th, 2:20 PM

A Pragmatic Ecology of Education: Media Ecology as the Response to John Dewey’s "Experience and Education" in a Mediated World

Coastal Georgia Center

This paper examines the relationship between John Dewey, in his work Experience and Education (1938), and the work of media ecologists Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan in regards to calling for a reexamination of educational foundations. The paper demonstrates that both McLuhan and Postman’s work on media education can be interpreted as an extension of and a response to the work of American pragmatist John Dewey. In particular, this paper reconciles Dewey’s call for experience based education to the longstanding tradition within media ecology of addressing the need for a critical examination of educational foundations and structures.

While both McLuhan and Postman take differing approaches to media education, both scholars’ work seeks to address the question of how education occurs which was of central importance to Dewey's work. This paper examines how media ecology as a discipline can serve to enrich a pragmatic approach to education through a critical examination of the foundations on which modern education based.

The goal of this paper is to introduce educational and critical theorists to the field of media ecology in order to begin a dialogue that can enrich the research and activism of all disciplines involved. Further, by appreciating the increasingly complex networked and mediated world in which students live, this paper puts forth suggestions which offer students the chance to critically examine the mediated environments in which they inhabit.