Understanding Curriculum as technotheological text

Guiding Question: How does curriculum emerge as technotheological practice or text?

My conceptual framework is situated within the historical and philosophical understanding of curriculum as technotheological text. I begin with a historical tracing of the modern sense of the words, curriculum, technology, and theology (Hamilton, 1989). Technologia was first introduced in 1563, and curriculum was introduced in 1576 by Peter Ramus (Ong, 2005; Sharratt, 1987, 2000). Curriculum, then, began within a Protestant and Calvinistic context (Graves, 2011; Reynolds & Webber, 2004; Slattery, 2006; Wang, 2002) with technology referring to the proper explication, arrangement, and systematization of curricular content (Friesen, 2011, 2013; Petrina & Rusnak, 2010).

Curriculum and technology were co-emergent with Christian theology. I want to explore the interdependence of these three practices. Curriculum scholars have explored the intersection of curriculum, spirituality and theology: Ted Aoki (2005), Dwayne Huebner (1966a, 1966b, 1974, 1993) and Philip Phenix (1959, 1964). They emphasize aesthetics, ethics, and transcendence. The situatedness of theological education is reflected in the writings of Weil (1973), Palmer (1980; 1998), Moran (1981), Purpel (1989), De Souza, Durka, Engebretson, Jackson, and McGrady (2009), McKnight (2004), and Moore (2004). Philosophers of technology have explored the intersection of technology and theology: Borgmann (1984, 1999), Ellul (1964), Haraway (2004), Heidegger (1977), and Latour (2010, 2013). The prevalence of media and technology in curriculum has been marked by historical and philosophical critiques (Apple, 1991; Feng, 2003; Ross, 2000; Petrina, 2002) but there is a void in historical understanding of curriculum and technology (Petrina & Rusnak, 2010). For the most part, the interdependence and co-emergence of curriculum, technology, and theology have not been adequately addressed.

 

References

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