Category Archives: The Self

Psychology & Neurology are Constructed via Media and “the Social”

Posted on May 16, 2016 by friesenn

Given the socially and technologically contingent nature of symptoms like the “flashback,” neuroscience alone cannot be expected to provide ready answers. This symptomatology of the flashback and its use as a narrative device was developed in the “age of film,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Theory, Media Theory, The Self, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

"Note to Self:" A Genealogy of the internal dialogue from Aurelius to Vygotsky

Posted on November 11, 2013 by friesenn

Referencing Foucault’s notion of “technologies of the self,” this paper/chapter traces the notion of the self-reflective, self-directed dialogue from the practices of the late Ancients (e.g. Aurelius) through Vygotsky to today’s digital tools of self-management and self examination. Here’s a link … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Textbook, The Self | Leave a comment

"Problems with Identity" – Chapter from Forgotten Connections

Posted on August 23, 2013 by friesenn

In the final chapter on identity, Mollenhauer embarks on what I believe is a tour-de-force conclusion to his book Forgotten Connections. Building on Sartre and others, Mollenhauer defines identity as our often challenging relationship with ourselves, and illustrates the characteristics of … Continue reading →

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“Note to Self”: The Genealogy of Internal Dialog in Educational Material & Practice

Posted on June 30, 2013 by friesenn

An abstract and short paper I’ve been working on as a conference proposal: This presentation provides an overview of the history of the “internal dialog” as a pedagogical form whose variations have played a key role in educational materials and … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Theory, Textbook, The Self | Leave a comment

Talking of "the Self" in Education and Ed. Psych – AERA 2013

Posted on April 30, 2013 by friesenn

I gave this presentation (audio recorded separately) to a packed room at AERA in San Francisco. The panel session was titled “Dewey and the Mind: Exploring Psychological and Neurological Implications of Dewey’s Work”  Over the past century or more, the … Continue reading →

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Foucault on Self-Care as Self-Bildung

Posted on November 20, 2012 by friesenn

Been reading Foucault’s Hermeneutics of the Subject, Foucault’s lectures at the Collège de France from 1981-1982. In this text, Foucault articulates further his notions of “care of the self” and “pastoral power” (about which I posted this item a couple … Continue reading →

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“We are not our Brains:” Alva Noe & Brain-based Education

Posted on April 30, 2011 by friesenn

Even though the 90’s was said to be the decade of the brain, education still seems to be fascinated with this wrinkled grey organ. Neurological descriptions, explanations and instructional strategies seem to be everywhere these days. But there are significant … Continue reading →

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Education has always been Posthuman

Posted on April 13, 2011 by friesenn

Mechanics of the Brain 1926 from Norm Friesen on Vimeo. Education has always been Posthuman The question of the “posthuman” has recently been gaining currency in discussions of educational philosophy and theory. It refers to the suspension of the “human” … Continue reading →

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The “new Language of Learning:” Lineage and Limitations

Posted on January 8, 2010 by friesenn

Here’s an abstract I just submitted to Gert Biesta’s conference, Theorising Education, in June. It is relatively uncontroversial to describe teaching and education as means through which naturally-occurring, biologically-based processes of learning are directed and facilitated to achieve predetermined outcomes. Gert Biesta … Continue reading →

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