Author Archives: Norm Friesen
O.F. Bollnow: Theory and Practice in Education
A deeply insightful presentation on theory and practice in education that I just had to translate, from O.F. Bollnow: “The discipline of teacher education has long been controversial. Some complain about its inadequate academic status and believe it urgently needs … Continue reading
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Failure as the Essence, the Dignity of Education?!
“That failure may have a far deeper foundation, that it is actually founded in the essence, even in the dignity of education itself, has never been considered. In reality, however, risk is an innermost essential characteristic of education as long … Continue reading
Colloquium: Human Science Pedagogy
Human Science Pedagogy: An International Colloquium June 11, 12:30-4:30 University of British Columbia, Koerner Library, RM216 (Vancouver, BC, Canada) What is Human Science Pedagogy? As educated & educating beings, we are not simply homo sapiens—a biological “type” determined by physiology … Continue reading
It’s out! The Textbook & the Lecture is published
Here’s a blog post about the book just posted by the publisher, Johns Hopkins U.P. I went to school at the dawn of the microcomputer. These were expensive, immobile boxes that only responded to coded commands. Today I hold a … Continue reading
Posted in Friedrich Kittler, History, Lecture, Marshall McLuhan, Media Theory, Michel Foucault, Textbook, Uncategorized, Writing
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Mindful Practice & Hope for the Future
Paper introducing the “human” education of Friedrich Schleiermacher. In a field increasingly dominated by managerial terminology and constructs of the psychological and neurological sciences, this paper presents education as an explicitly human “science”—as integral to human projects such as individual … Continue reading
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The Catechism and the Textbook: A Genealogy of Instructional Interactivity
This presentation traces the origin of Luther’s catechism and its impact on later educational methods, materials and instructional interactivity, using German and American examples from the 16th to the 21st centuries.
Posted in History, Media Theory, Textbook, The Self
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Lecture & Textbook: Education in the Age of New Media
Forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press. Why are the fundamentals of education apparently so little changed in our era of digital technology? Is their obstinate persistence evidence of resilience or obsolescence? Such questions can best be answered not by imagining … Continue reading
Posted in Bildung, Friedrich Kittler, History, Lecture, Media Theory, Michel Foucault, Textbook, The Self, Writing
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Klaus Mollenhauer’s late philosophical text, Forgotten Connections: On Culture and Upbringing (2014) deals in a highly original and accessible way with education in its most basic human and cultural constituents.
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Good Teaching is about Tact, not Interaction or Scaffolding
Pedagogical tact has been a topic of significant international interest in educational discourse since it was initially defined by J.F. Herbart in 1802—specifically as a “quick judgment and decision” able to address “the true requirements of the individual case.” This … Continue reading
Posted in Pädagogik, Phenomenology, Uncategorized
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Eugen Fink and Education beyond the Human
Eugen Fink (1905-1975) earned his doctorate under Husserl and Heidegger and remained Husserl’s loyal assistant, even when the latter was abandoned by Heidegger and persecuted by the Nazis for being Jewish. Regardless, the influence of Heidegger is much more evident … Continue reading
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