Cybernetic Ecology: Harmonizing Student and Machine in the Humanities Classroom

In "Cybernetic Ecology: Harmonizing Student and Machine in the Humanities Classroom" John Barber starts with the notion proposed in Richard Brautigan's poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" of a "cybernetic ecology" in order to suggest that mutually beneficial interactive contexts for teaching and learning Humanities promoted by networked-computer technology are currently available, and will continue to evolve. Building on the ideas of other panel members, Barber describes how a literature class utilizing networked-computer technology might transcend the time, space, and place boundaries of the traditional Humanities classroom, provide access to far-flung research resources, promote broader collaborative opportunities among students, and orient teaching toward a broad spectrum of humanistic endeavor. Although dependent on theory, his descriptions of the "cybernetic ecology" promoted by networked-computer technology provide preliminary points of praxis for Humanities teachers considering or already using it for collaboration, research, publication, and, of course, teaching. Finally, in the spirit of this conference, his thoughts are also seen as invitations for further critical yet creative thinking.