Nostalgia and connection in academic imaginaries of digital pedagogies
Article / Journal
Author(s) / editor(s):
Ceridwen Owen
,
Margaret Bearman
,
Rosalyn Black
,
and Rola Ajjawi
Year: 2026
Language(s): English
Abstract:
The paper explores how very senior academics in Australia and the UK imagine the role of the digital in higher education teaching. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2023, the authors identify three recurring “social imaginaries” of digital pedagogies: (1) the pull of the past, a nostalgic view that sees digital tools as causing a loss or weakening of previous forms of connection; (2) the launching pad, a more hopeful imaginary in which the digital enhances connection, practices, and learning environments; and (3) the untethered future, which moves beyond nostalgia to imagine new, not-yet-familiar forms of connected education. These imaginaries help explain current debates and tensions around digital teaching in universities.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2025.2531997
Post created by: Virginia Signorini