Computers and Black Studies

Over the past five years the explosion in computer technology has created a revolution in processing information, one that rivals the significance of the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century. This rapid development in computer technology is often called the Cognitive Revolution, but unfortunately it has concentrated primarily on the medium of strict technological development rather than on the message or audience. As a result, many people have acquired computerphobia and have failed to explore an effective understanding of how these new devices can be exploited. A corollary problem is that because computers usually are associated with mathematics and science disciplines too few application software programs have been developed for students and scholars in the humanities and social sciences to enhance pedagogy and research. The Cognitive Revolution is simultaneously overwhelming and subtle. It is overwhelming in the sense that the technology is changing far faster than our knowledge and abilities to master it. This situation is unlikely to change soon. For example, according to a recent report by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, electronic and computer engineers are unable to keep abreast of this technological revolution, and engineering schools have been advised to counsel students to prepare for a lifelong process of continuous

Cognition · Education Systems and Policy · History of Computing Technologies · ICT in Developing Communities · Neuroscience · Psychology