Weeks 1-2 (January 27-February 10): Introduction and Foundations

“The” history of schooling and YOUR history of schooling.  Teaching and learning in popular culture.  What is science fiction and what does it tell us?

Weeks 3-4 (February 11-February 24 (First Paper due)): Education as Cultural Marker

Schooling in culture and culture in schooling. Education and ethics and ethos.  The culture of schoolchildren.

Weeks 5-6 (February 25-March 10): Learning to Learn

Learning styles.  Self-reflection and meta-learning.  Eportfolios.  What about THIS course?

Weeks 7-8 (March 11-March 24 (Second Paper due)): Learning to Ask

Google-Fu and the massive collective brain.  Just-in-time learning and the encyclopedia of everything.  We are wikipedians.

Weeks 9-10 (March 25-April 7): Technology Changes Us

Future forces affecting education.  Cyborgs, artificial intelligence and intelligent artifice.  Machines in your life.

Weeks 11-12 (April 8-April 28 (CUNY Spring Break is April 17-April 26) (Third Paper Due)): Who Are We? (What is Human?)

Homo homini lupus.  Our ancestors and us.  Is there a homo novo? Would you want your sister to marry a cylon if they were really in love?

Weeks 13-14 (April 29-May 12): Why Are We? (Why Learning? and Why Literature?)

The sophists and jiu-jitsu.  Job skills and the liberal arts.  Literature and pulp and movies and films (and the question of genre).

Week 15 (May 13-May 19 (Final Projects due)): Reflecting and Projecting

Summing up and Envoi.  Planning “the” future of education and YOUR future of education.