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Rethinking academic culture in the information age

The integration of new technologies in higher education has provoked a strong response over the last decade, not only from administrators and the public but also from academics. It has re-opened basic theoretical questions about the role of universities and that of academic culture. / This thesis begins with a critical review of the literature dealing with conceptualizations of academic culture and technology in higher education. Most theorists have come to the conclusion that academic culture is a set of values and norms that serve as guides for action. At root, this conclusion is derived from an organizational perspective prevalent in contemporary academic culture theory. / I argue, instead, that academic culture needs to be re-addressed to consider the complexities between its traditional boundaries and new technological pressures. My research suggests there are high levels of contestation across the full range of technologies, and that the nature of this contestation is ideological, aesthetic, and pedagogical. Furthermore, the contestation is both a product of, and is productive of, a reshaping of academic culture. / Drawing on the theory of cultural production of Pierre Bourdieu, who views culture as constitutive of fairly engrained practices I demonstrate that academic culture stands as a check on institutional powers, yet it is also influenced by the integration of new technologies. This suggests that academic culture is formed and maintained by an ever-negotiated and shifting set of activities.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.100361
Date January 2005
CreatorsFerreira, Maria José M.
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageDoctor of Philosophy (Department of Art History and Communication Studies.)
Rights© Maria José M. Ferreira, 2005
Relationalephsysno: 002335764, proquestno: AAINR25143, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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