Pedagogy 2025

Abstract

In this paper, I will share my experience developing a project on “Building Digital Literacy in the Arts and Humanities”, funded by a teaching and learning grant under the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education (FITE) by The University Grants Committee (UGC) of Hong Kong. I will highlight some challenges of teaching technology in a traditional humanities department (Cultural Studies in my case), which lacks the technical resources for supporting student projects. In the age of AI and rapid technological advancement, the humanities are pressured to engage more with technology to remain relevant. However, a humanities approach to technology is fundamentally different from engineering. Rather than beginning with a specific tool or technique, a humanities approach begins with concepts and ideas — which tool that is used becomes less important. In this sense, collaboration with technology partners is key to realising student projects, with a strong focus on self-learning with accessible tools and software, where using the most advanced technologies is often unnecessary. While digital humanities often apply the latest tools to humanistic fields, the humanities must also engage with critical media studies and media philosophy to rethink the fundamentals of the technology itself, rather than accepting it as a given. In this sense, the humanities have the potential to transform technology, rather than simply being transformed by it. My project seeks to bring in industry professionals to teach workshops in my courses and develop an online resource and glossary for students and faculty in the humanities to develop projects with technology.