Future U: Fear and Loathing in Academia

June 10, 2012

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Future U is a multipart series on the university of the 21st century. We will be investigating the possible future of the textbook, the technological development of libraries, how tech may change the role of the professor, and the future role of technology in museums, research parks, and university-allied institutions of all kinds.

Future U

“What I would have had to do to access original sources 15 years ago!” Prof. Jeff McClurken McClurken, Associate Professor and Head of History and American Studies at the University of Mary Washington, told Ars. “Now I can get the entire text of Lewis and Clark’s journals online, or most books from the 19^th century or an archive of tweets related to the Arab Spring.”

“Education is in the the process of changing,” agreed Jonathan Rees, Professor of History at Colorado State University at Pueblo. “Technology has given us opportunities the people who taught me didn’t have.”

Technology has made the job of the professor, both teaching and research, easier and more exciting. At the same time, it has introduced stresses and worries that were not present before.