In “Pedagogy and the Logic of Platforms“, Chris Gilliard responds to Mike Caulfield’s question: “Can Higher Education Save the Web?”
The Web
The Web, in its current state, is a place of discriminatory practices rooted in surveillance capitalism. Where our digital identities are monetized and our experiences personalized according to the identities the Web deems we have. This affects what we see, what we have access to, and shapes our engagement across the Web. In his article, Gilliard discusses digital redlining and how these practices “discriminate against specific groups.” He states that since this targeting is heavily based on race and economics, it directly impacts what information students see both in and out of the classroom, which means that digital redlining, surveillance, targeting, and the Web in general affect our education and our future.
The Medium
Marshall McLuhan’s idea that “the medium is the message” applies to Gilliard’s response and helps students in higher education question the medium of the Web that we have grown up with. It is easy for us to identify what we can do using the Web. To read the content it presents. However, to make a difference in how it operates, we have to question its actions. This means acknowledging, like McLuhan says, “how the technology itself changes our culture.” Gilliard discusses how, in his classroom, he tries to make his students aware of the effects of surveillance capitalism, what consent really means in digital spaces, and “envisioning, with students, new ways to exist online.” Questioning the Web in this way and its impact on society follows McLuhan’s idea of “the medium is the message.”
The Answer
Instead of blindly accepting the way the Web is, we have to look beyond the content it presents. We have to work against its targeted influence on our lives to combat its discriminatory practices. Having conversations with students like Gilliard is a great way to get students to question what they use every day and is the first step toward answering Caulfield’s question, “Can Higher Education Save the Web?”
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