This paper argues that Wittgenstein considered himself an exile and indeed was a self-imposed exile from his native Vienna; that this condition of exile is important for understanding Wittgenstein the man and his philosophy; and that exile as a condition has become both a central characteristic condition of late modernity (as much as alienation…

In this response, we acknowledge the central concerns of the commentators to our article on learning's topography. We respond to those concerns on the basis of the multiplicity of views about learning that reside within the learning terrain we outlined in Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds (2009/this issue).

A series of experiments on operant variability by Neuringer and colleagues (e.g., Neuringer, 1986, 2002; Page & Neuringer, 1985) have been repeatedly cited as showing that behavioral variability can be reinforced by making reinforcement contingent on it. They showed that the degree of variability in pigeons' eight-peck sequences, as measured by U…

This paper is driven by a simple question: what type of collective space is a classroom and how can it be imagined differently? Drawing on the social topography provided by Hardt and Negri, I suggest that schools have traditionally worked to produce either (a) a people; (b) a crowd; or (c) the masses. The problem with these forms of social…

In this paper, I problematize the inextricable relationship between how I constitute knowledge and how I articulate knowledge. Through various narrative reflections I explore my own reckoning with dominant ways of articulating knowledge that reinforce ways of constituting knowledge that are inherently strange to me. I also outline my sojourns and…

Attempts to represent the complexity of the web of literary relationships and their transformational space using fragmentary texts that circle around the novel "The English Patient": self as relationship and the dialogic engagement with a book by the patient himself; and the relationship and engagement with this book and with each other of a group…

Along with patterns of neo-liberal transformation spreading through Israeli higher education, a distinctive element of Israeli academe is the extent to which university staff and researchers actively or more often tacitly support the broader aims of the government and the Occupation, including its daily murders, abominations and indignities…

Two seismic forces beyond our control--the advent of Web 2.0 and the inexorable influx of tech-savvy Millennials on campus--are shaping what Roger McHaney calls "The New Digital Shoreline" of higher education. Failure to chart its contours, and adapt, poses a major threat to higher education as we know it. These forces demand that we as educators…

When writing, few students have any concept that word placement affects the content of their writing. They seldom rework their papers at the sentence level in order to assure that their grammar reflects and enhances their content. Recognizing the relationship of grammar to meaning, composition researchers are reasserting the place of grammar in…

Explores the notion of computer access for composition students. Focuses on the need for a more complex understanding of access, given the real conditions under which students write. Notes that analyzing the issue requires attention to traditional configurations of class and ownership and to the ways that current and ever-changing student working…

Gives 1986 National Rural and Small Schools Consortium Conference definitions for rural school district, small school district, and remote/isolated school, providing common terms for communicating with legislators, federal/state policymakers, and researchers. Emphasizes "ruralness" as a continuum affected by the interaction of…

Discusses four major elements of computer assisted instruction (CAI) program (instructional objectives; presentation, interaction, feedback); describes attributional consistency, which involves developing CAI programs so each major element has a common topography (e.g., to discriminate, describe, demonstrate, depict graphically); and presents…

Presents a theoretical framework for an empirical analysis of subject matter based on conceptual definitions of instruction and schooling. Discusses relating a period of instruction and the subject matter to other facts such as the students' experiences, curricular regulations, and the teacher's didactic routines. Illustrates the "local…

Explores some current concepts of curriculum integration, and proposes some alternatives to the conceptual violence often done in the name of curriculum integration. What is lost in many efforts in curriculum integration is the "topography" of any particular thing. Curriculum integration should rely on relationships that already exist and not…

The article discusses a vast river of data or information and creating a context in which the information makes sense and can be understood. As technologists, they have this kind of awkward responsibility to deal with social context. In order to provide value to their organizations, they need to understand the messy activity of groups of people…