Journal of University Studies

Journal of University Studies

A critical review of the book “Conceptualizing the Digital University: The Intersection of Policy, Pedagogy and Practice” and its Persian translation

Document Type : Book Review

Author
Assistant Prof. of Communication Studies, Dept. of Science and Technology, Institute for Cultural, Social and Civilization Studies, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The book Conceptualizing the Digital University: The Intersection of Policy, Pedagogy and Practice by Johnston et. al. (2019) and its Persian translation published by the Iranian Institute for Cultural, Social and Civilization Studies is a timely book on digital university that critically discusses how and why the universities are dominated by neo-liberalism in the light of digital transformation. In challenging the reductionist accounts of digital university by developers of digital cultures, it accuses them of suppressing the humanistic values of university and undermining the social agency of the professors and students and of strengthening a neo-liberal culture. Thus, it casts doubts on the emancipatory perspectives of digital university. To provide an alternative narrative of the digital university, the book first analyzes the neoliberal context of the digital university and its meanings, providing a new articulation of the digital university by borrowing from Paulo Freire's concepts such as academic praxis, critical pedagogy, social agency and social justice. It claims that Neoliberalism weakens the university and marginalizes the socio-cultural and humanistic values ​​of education by resorting to the digital university discourse, and to adjust this situation, it is necessary to turn to academic praxis and critical pedagogy. By combining theory and practice and by creatively and critically synthesizing the existing literature, the book has been able to reconceptualize the digital university, but due to it focusing too much on abstract analyzes and not providing a clear definition of key concepts, it has not been able to provide a concrete model, or an adequate account of    digital university. The Persian translation of the book, despite its maximum fidelity to the original and its accuracy in finding the target equivalents, is not adequate enough in terms of syntax, spelling and punctuation marks.
Keywords

Subjects


Johnston, B., et. al. (2019). Conceptualizing the Digital University: The Intersection of Policy, Pedagogy and Practice. Springer.
Johnston, B., et. al. (2023). Mafhumsāzi-ye dānešgāh-e digitāl [Conceptualizing the Digital University: The Intersection of Policy, Pedagogy and Practice] (H. Hasani, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Institute for Cultural, Social and Civilization Stuies.  (Original work published 2019)
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 5
Autumn 2023
Summer 2023
Pages 191-197

  • Receive Date 11 June 2023
  • Revise Date 23 March 0621
  • Accept Date 06 August 2023