Robert Sweeny

Cyborg_clone_parasite: Threads of a Critical Digital Pedagogy Robert Sweeny

The models of the cyborg, the clone, and the parasite provide the reader with an analysis of educational and digital spaces, drawing comparisons between the centralized, hierarchical networks typically reinforced in classrooms and those that are decentralized and rhizomatic such as the Internet. In order to extend this analysis, network theory is compared to the structure of an introductory university art course that is informed by aspects of critical pedagogy. Drawn from practical examples generated in the classroom, popular media, and the world of contemporary art, the social effects of developing technologies are then interpreted through three shifts that have accompanied the mechanical reproduction of artworks throughout the 20th century. The shifts in notions of authorship, authenticity, and authority lead to a discussion of similar effects that have accompanied the widespread use of digital networks, and how these networks might work within a critical pedagogy based approach to 21st century art education.