Dr. David Staley
Director of the Humanities Institute and Director of the Center for the Humanities in Practice (CHiP), Associate Professor in the Department of History, Ohio State University
Academics will have to think differently now about access to power and about holding power. We like to think about speaking truth to power... Rather than being at a sort of distance from [the political] world, some of us, not all of us,...will need to practice policy and political authority. And those of us in academia [leadership] will need to see that as something valuable and that we reward.
Key Interview Takeaways
Truth is under assault. It is up to academics to reassert truth, through action, including public service, in addition to speaking truth to power.
Higher Ed will need more instructional designers and strategists, particularly with interdisciplinary backgrounds such as LDT grads. Growth potential for instructional designers and academics as demand from corporations grows for that knowledge and expertise as they grow corporate learning and upskilling initiatives.
COVID-19 has bifurcated the nature of work. COVID-19 has given us a digital version of past patterns of plagues in human history. The wealthy are able to shelter from risks with technology, while the working class must take greater risks in work that requires exposure to the virus. For online learning, digital divide means less access and less equitable engagement for students who do not have technology (or tools nor supportive space at home).
Biography
David Staley is Director of the Humanities Institute and Director of the Center for the Humanities in Practice (CHiP). He is an associate professor in the Department of History–where he teaches courses in digital history and historical methods–and holds courtesy appointments in the departments of Design–where he has taught courses in Design History and Design Futures–and Educational Studies, where he leads the “Forum on the University.” He is the author of Alternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019); Brain, Mind and Internet: A Deep History and Future (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), Computers, Visualization and History, 2nded.(Routledge, 2014) and History and Future: Using Historical Thinking to Imagine the Future (Lexington Books, 2007). He is host of the, “Voices of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences” podcast. In addition to his written work, he has designed and curated both online and physical exhibitions and has published numerous visual compositions in digital media. From 2003-2008, Staley was the Executive Director of the American Association for History and Computing (AAHC).