Dear Collegues,
 
lately, I tried to move, as chair, some of the dept. discussions to the internet.
My experience was bad, to say the least. 
Two fractions oppose each other re. email discussions: the one which likes the "fankness" or the all but civil discourse, and the other that feels so offended by it that to mend fences becomes almost impossible.
Problem: do you archieve the (flaming) exchanges? Especially junior faculty feel vulnerable in this, and it is not truly a free exchange. We also have a generation gap: how to include the non-media literate oldtimers?
Now, in my SUNY Senate expereince, none of this became an issue: the listserves have been very sucessful.
My STUDENTS seem to navigate this medium (not facebook) much more cautiously. 
In my view, for the colleagues, the electronic medium is causing a decline in civil discourse.
 
What is your expereince?
 
Achim
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                 
"Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind."
Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, "Transcendental Logic," Introduction, # 1 
Dr. Achim D. Koeddermann, Chair, Philosophy Dept.
SUNY-Oneonta, NY 13820
"Gedanken ohne Inhalt sind leer, Anschauungen ohne Begriffe sind blind"

________________________________

From: Teaching Breakfast List on behalf of Jim Greenberg
Sent: Thu 4/30/2009 9:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Taylor Piece in NYT


Some (many) or even all of you may have read the Taylor piece in the NYT on the end of the university.  The link to it is: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html

The piece itself has generated a lot of discussion, but this email is on a different issue.  While reading the comments on this piece, I noticed there are many hostile remarks back and forth and wonder about "the decline of civil discourse." What has been your experience with students involved with electronic discourse in your courses?  What about outside courses?  What has been your personal experience?  Is the electronic medium causing a decline in civil discourse? 

Thanks. 

Mr. James B. Greenberg 
Director Teaching, Learning and Technology Center 
Milne Library 
SUNY College at Oneonta 
Oneonta, New York 13820 

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