O'Donnell looks at technology

Rapid technological advances in recent years have spurred wide-ranging debates about the relative benefits and drawbacks of "progress." One unique approach is that taken by Classical Studies Professor James O'Donnell, the author, most recently, of Avatars of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace, a book that strives to show that modern technology is "far less revolutionary than we like to think it is." O'Donnell should know -- he was appointed as Penn's vice provost for Information Systems and Computing in the spring of 1996. The Hill House faculty master is an expert on the use of computers in higher education. Monday, O'Donnell was the featured speaker at the Forum for Penn Authors, an ongoing program spotlighting Penn faculty members' recently published books. About 30 students and faculty members attended the event, which was held in King's Court/English House's Class of 1938 Lounge. O'Donnell discussed the major themes in Avatars, his seventh book. While new technologies are improvements over past innovations, O'Donnell said, they are not really as "radically new as we like to think." But while new technology may not necessarily be revolutionary, he explained, it still has a significant impact on society. "Traditional universities assume that information is a scarce resource," he said. But with the spread of new information technologies like the Internet, he explained, such an assumption is no longer completely true. Since taking his ISC job, O'Donnell said that he has become "more convinced that change will happen and that it will happen rapidly and dramatically." The traditional idea behind university studies, he said, is that skills needed in the present can best be learned through a study of the past. But with technology making information "somewhere between abundant and super-abundant," people now know far more about the present world than they every did about history, O'Donnell added. He cautioned that there may be some "long-term devaluation" of the importance of studying history. O'Donnell also noted that while recent changes in technology are significant, they are still far from making old sources of information obsolete. "I'm still going to carry books around for a long time," he said. After his initial remarks of about 20 minutes, O'Donnell answered questions from members of the audience. Krimo Bokreta, the KC/EH house dean, said O'Donnell's comments were "very much needed at this time." O'Donnell, he said, brought up "crucial questions that our students should be trying to find the answers to." The Forum for Penn Authors is sponsored by the Perspectives in Humanities residential program, which has locations in KC/EH and Harrison House, formerly known as High Rise South. College sophomore Sara Nasuti, the program's manager, said that the author's forum is a way to allow students and faculty members to interact in a casual setting so students can become aware of the publishing that goes on within the University community. Bokreta added that the author's forum is "one of our traditions" at KC/EH. Nasuti said that she expects to hold two author's forums each semester. The next one is planned for November.