MSTU4016-08/Discuss 14

From Studyplace

December 10
Interrogating the Media IV: The Place of the Real in a World of the Virtual

Discussion Question

[edit] Drift

• Compare and contrast Enrico's and Rico's experience of:
  • Time
  • Character
  • Permanence
• Is the rise of Enrico's flexible work environment an undoing of the process of standardization discussed in early eras? How and how not?
• Compare and contrast the notion of space and architecture in modern society with that of the medieval cathedral.
• Do you agree with author's assertion that the flexibility of modern society leads to an erosion of character? How is (or is not) this manifest in expedience for yourself, your family, or your students?
• Contrast trust in the modern workplace with the trust gained by oratory in ancient Greece or Rome.
• Are today's classroom more web-like or pyramidal? Are they changing? Should they?
• Do current pedagogical practices prepare students to work in a world of "drift"? How should they change?

[edit] Risk

• Do you find the fluidity of performance appraisal in your work place similar to that of Rose?
• Apply Sennet's concerns in risk in professional life to issues that face educators. How does the rise of accountability movement affect this dynamic? Does this encourage or discourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship in the classroom?
• What are the factors that Sennet sights that make risk unpleasant? Do you experience these in your life?
• How can we prepare students to better face a world full of risks?

Discussion leader: Jeff

Required Readings

• Richard Sennett, The Corrosion of Charaacter: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998), pp. 15-31, 76-97. Read

Supplemental Reading

I wanted to share a list of possible corrosive effects from the article that I think may prove useful in our studies:

• 1. cell phone use in public areas.
• 2. cell phone policies in the NYC Public Schools.
• 3. Are we creating a society that expects instant graitification?
• 4. Mobile Communication and motor vehicle rules.

What do you think?