Educational Ecologies: Toward a Symbolic-Material Understanding of Discourse, Technology, and Education

(Hardback)

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This book elucidates how technology has impacted the discourse and practices of higher education. Dowd situates current educational movements centered on new technologies, such as the Do It Yourself (DIY) movement, within broader ideological concepts concerned with education, progress, technology, and work. Knowledge of how the discourse and practices of higher education have been impacted enables teachers to create learning environments that are conducive to the cultivation of ethically informed and engaged lives.

Reviews

In this highly pertinent work, Dowd reveals how the organizational dynamics of our symbolic-material environments have gained a foothold in the intersection of discourse and technology. With great precision and clarity, he provides a robust systematic framework that details the technological changes that confront higher education and contemporary culture. This is a must read for anyone interested in the complex and nuanced relationships between discourse, technology, and culture. -- Corey Anton, Grand Valley State University, and former president of the Media Ecology Association
In this artfully crafted book, Dowd sets his sights on the pretensions, promises, and perils of recent innovations in higher education. Using the conceptual lens of ecologies of action, Dowd provides a robust and profoundly engaging critique of the symbolic-material complexthe words and worldthat shape contemporary developments in both teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. A must read for anyone interested in diagnosing the current crisis in higher education or predicting its future opportunities. -- David J. Gunkel, Northern Illinois University

Author Bio

John Dowd is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Bowling Green State University.