Digital literacy, AI, and the liberal arts: From taxonomies to heuristics for teaching and learning

AUP is working on how to reimagine digital literacy in the age of AI, and how to help our students develop productive and critical dispositions: so that academic integrity and critical literacy become positive aspects of their education. We have invited Stuart Selber to help us in this process.

Talk Abstract

In this talk Stuart A. Selber, Professor of English at Penn State, addresses how institutions can respond thoughtfully to generative AI by shifting attention from rules and compliance to shared frameworks for digital literacy. Drawing on a multiliteracies approach, the talk situates AI within longer histories of teaching, learning, and technological change, emphasizing that digital literacy is contextual, evolving, and fundamentally tied to educational values. Focusing on the liberal arts classroom, the discussion explores how AI can confound but also clarify assumptions about teaching and learning, and argues for framing academic integrity as a habit of practice rather than a punitive mechanism. Grounded in the institutional priorities of human interaction, local educational goals, and critical digital literacy, the talk offers both conceptual language for campus-wide deliberation and practical pedagogical strategies faculty can adapt in their courses.

The talk will be followed by Q&A and discussion.

The event will be held on Zoom and recorded. If you register for the event, you will be emailed a link to the recording.