The norms and principles of liberal education—broadly-based and cross-disciplinary learning meant at its core to cultivate those habits of mind and intellectual dispositions worthy of a free and self-governing citizen—are under pressure in the digital age. The norms and principles of the digital age—access to information, transparency and velocity of worldwide communication, ubiquitous and frictionless authorship, broad democratic participation—are under pressure in the late neoliberal age.

In this talk, Elliott will consider the future of post-secondary education and propose a possible path forward, in which the affordances of digital scholarship and online learning align with and enhance the abiding principles of liberal education as a remedy for the democratic deficits and failed emancipations of the ‘post-digital’ era we inhabit.

Professor Elliott Visconsi is Notre Dame’s Chief Academic Digital Officer in the Provost’s Office, tasked with articulating and leading the University’s digital strategy as well as implementing innovative digital and online strategies on and beyond campus. He teaches and writes about early modern literature from Shakespeare to the end of the 18th century, constitutional law, First Amendment / Freedom of Expression doctrine in the digital age. Elliott is also the co-founder of Luminary Digital Media and the creator of an innovative software framework and authoring environment for teaching and learning with mobile devices.