Abstract
Addressing the question from this year’s Special Focus in Humanities Education—How can humanistic education empower learners to navigate the vast ocean of ideas and currents of the 21st century?—this colloquium uses oceanic metaphors to explore the confluence of technologically mediated life and student experience in the digital age. Drawing on concepts such as the “sea of data” and algorithmic currents, we examine how several Humanities courses taught at our STEM-focused institution can provide anchoring insights and means of navigating society’s increasingly turbulent waters. “Drowning in a Sea of Data: Today’s Digital Subjects” uses an interpretive approach, examining user experience with digital communication technologies and the flows of data that suffuse everyday life. It thereby sets up the problematic that the following papers address through practice-focused investigations of course- and curriculum- level interventions at our university. Using the metaphor of algorithmic currents, “Teaching a Humanistic Approach to AI” offers insights from a new course that examines AI and automation through the lens of platform and software studies. “Making (Sound) Waves: Two Courses in Podcasting and Audio Production” shares some lessons learned from engaging STEM students with multimedia content and publishing in two podcast-themed Humanities courses that invite students to engage critically with—and contribute meaningfully to—the vast oceans of podcasting content being made available. The final paper, “Curriculum as Compass,” takes a bird’s eye view, exploring how course alignment and curriculum development serve an orienting function by determining the direction, scope, and depth of our students’ explorations in the Humanities.
Presenters
Shannon LodoenAssistant Professor of Rhetoric and Composition, Humanities and Communication, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona, United States Amelia Chesley
Ashley Rea
Assistant Professor of Rhetoric & Composition, Humanities & Communication, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona, United States Matthew Haslam
Chair, Humanities and Communication Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Humanities Education, Digital Technologies, Navigation, Course Development, Student Experience, Anchoring
