Cognizant that Saint Augustine’s world of Latin Antiquity is foreign to a technological world and that technology is not ethically neutral, this essay explores application of the 2 principal categories of the spirituality of Saint Augustine (Interiority and Communion) to practicing Augustinian Pedagogy in a technological world. An Augustinian Reflection Circle and Augustinian Dispositions of practicing humility, engaging out brokenness, strengthening courage and cheerfulness, as well as working with diligence are outlined for practicing Augustinian Interiority in an Augustinian Pedagogy context. Augustinian Communion is viewed as accompaniment in technological isolation, communities of compassion in a faceless virtual world, a spirituality of togetherness in a world of technological persuasion, and as reclaiming true friendship in cyberspace. These categories are explored for application to learning in a technological world of radical exteriority, pervasive persuasion, individualism, isolation, anonymity and the quest for fame.
1. A possible starting point for educators could be Saint Augustine’s Teaching Christianity which presents the uti/frui distinction in a teaching context.
2. Alter, A. op.cit., 15.
3. Arbesmann, R. (1954) “The Concept of ‘Christus Medicus’ in St. Augustine,” Traditio, 10, 9.
4. Arrupe, P., S.J. (1973) “Men and Women For Others” presented at the Tenth International Congress of Jesuit Alumni of Europe in Valencia, Spain, on July 31.
5. —————https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/men-for-others.html. Retrieval of this information occurred on October 2, 2020, at 3 pm EDT.
6. Bowers, C. A. (1988) The Cultural Dimensions of Educational Computing: Understanding the Non-neutrality of Technology. New York: Teachers College Press.
7. __________ . (1993) Culture Diversity and the Ecological Crisis: Addressing the Double Binds in Teacher Education, in Critical Essays on Education, Modernity, and the Recovery of the Ecological Imperative. New York: Teachers College Press, 163-178.
8. __________. (1987) Elements of a Post-Liberal Theory of Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 164-166.
9. __________. (2000) Let Them Eat Data: How Computers Affect Education, Cultural Diversity and the Prospects of Ecological Sustainability. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2000.
10. Burt, D.X. (2002) “Let Me Know Myself…” Reflections on the Prayer of Saint Augustine. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.
11. Caltagirone, C.L. (1988) Friendship as Sacrament. Staten Island, NY: Alba House.
12. Canning, R. (1981) “In Search of the Neighbour and God,” in Searching for God: The Contemplative Dimension of the Augustinian Experience, ed. International Course on Augustinian Spirituality. Rome: Pubblicazioni Agostiniane, 170.
13. CASEL
14. Chadwick, H. (2009) Augustine of Hippo: A Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 167.
15. “Cheerful attitude” is Raymond Canning's translation of Augustine's use of “de hilaritate comparanda” in Saint Augustine, Instructing Beginners in Faith (De catechizandis rudibus), 16 (Introduction)
16. Crouch, A. (2017) The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Books, 20-21.
17. ___________ op. cit., 26-27.
18. DeNoon, D. J. (2005) “Blackberry Thumb: Real Illness or Just Dumb?” http://www.webmd.com/arthritis/news/20050126/blackberry-thumb-real-illness-just-dumb. Retrieval of this information occurred on May 3, 2020, at 1 pm EDT.
19. Descartes, R. (1850) Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, Seeking Truth in Sciences, trans. John Veitch. Edinburgh: Sutherland and Knox, Part IV, 75. (Original French publication 1637).
20. Dodaro, R. (1999) “The Courage to Be Intolerant: Crisis, Dialogue, and Diversity in the Pastoral Theology of Augustine of Hippo,” in Augustinian Family Prepares for the Third Millennium, Thomas Cooney, editor. Rome: Pubblicazioni Agostiniane, 76.
21. Duhigg, C. (2014) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. New York: Random House, 244.
22. ___________ op. cit., 33.
23. Eubanks, V. (2017) Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 216.
24. ___________ Eubanks, V., op. cit., 8.
25. Eyal, N. (2014) Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. London: Portfolio Penguin, 12
26. Eze, K., O.S.A. (2021) “The Role of Augustinian Educational Values as Elements of Social Transformation in the Church’s Mission of Evangelization in Africa.”
27. ___________ https://augustinianpedagogy.org/various-authors. Retrieval of this document occurred on May 11, 2021, at 7 pm EDT.
28. Galende, F., O.S.A. (2006) “Augustinian Interiority,” in Our Journey Back to God: Reflections on Augustinian Spirituality, ed. Miguel Angel Keller, O.S.A. Rome: Pubblicazione Agostiniane, 278-279. 29. Hadot, P. (1995) Philosophy as a Way of Life, trans., Michael Chase. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 30. Harmon, K. (2009) “Is There Such a Thing as ‘Cell Phone Elbow’?”
31. ___________http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-cell-phone-elbow/. Retrieval of this information occurred on May 3, 2021, at 2 pm EDT.
32. Howie, G. (1969) Educational Theory and Practice in St. Augustine. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 148.
33. I came across the importance of gardens for Saint Augustine’s spiritual development in an unpublished essay by George Lawless, entitled, “Augustine's Journey and Signposts Along the Way.” In it he identifies as the source of his information: Tavard, G. (1988) Les jardins de Saint Augustin: Lectures des Confessions. Montreal: Editions Bellarmin. A posting of an earlier lecture on this topic, Lawless, George Rev., (1996) “Augustine's Journey and Signposts Along the Way.” International Institute for Clergy Formation. 501, is at https://scholarship.shu.edu/summer-institute/501. Retrieval of this information occurred on March 10, 2021, at 2 pm EDT.
34. I would be remiss if I did not express my thanks to the Filipino Augustinian educators who asked me to reflect on this when I made presentations on “Learning and Teaching: Encounters of an Augustinian Kind” at Colegio San Agustin-Makati, Colegio San Agustin-Biñan, Laguna, Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod and Colegio Santo Niño de Cebu, Cebu City in November 2018. Also, I am grateful to Dr. Amelia Ronquillo, Rev. Fr. Andrew P. Batayola, O.S.A., and Rev. Fr. Wilson A. Capellan, O.S.A., for organizing those presentations
35. Ibid., 103., 107, 160, 5, 267, 6-10, 62
36. In 1999, as Project Designer and Director of a United States Department of Education “Strengthening Institutions – Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V)” program, I secured an initial award of $417,353 for a grant project, Strengthening Academic Programs through Faculty Development, Infrastructure Development/Distance Learning for Saint Thomas University in Miami, FL. Subsequently, funding for the program cumulatively totaled $2.1 million.
37. Insunza, S. (2006) “Affectivity in Religious Formation” in Affectivity and Formation for Religious Life: Course for Augustinian Formators 2004, coor. Emanuel Borg Bonello, O.S.A. Rome: Pubblicazioni Agostiniane, Curia Generalizia Agostiniana, 216-222.
38. ___________ “Augustinian Spirituality in the Life of the Laity,” in Our Journey Back to God: Reflections on Augustinian Spirituality, ed. Miguel Angel Keller, O.S.A. Rome: Pubblicazione Agostiniane, 405.
39. Keller, J. O.S.A., (2012) “Augustinian Schools: Organization, Mission & Values” in Augustinian Secondary Education Association Handbook. Chicago: Council of the Federation of Augustinians of North America (FANA), 10-17.
40. ___________ (2001) “Human Formation and Augustinian Anthropology,” in Elements of an Augustinian Formation, ed. International Commission on Formation. Rome: Pubblicazione Agostiniane, 210.
41. Lanctôt, A. and Duxbury, L. (2017) A National Study of the Impact of Electronic Communication on Canadian School Leaders. Edmonton, AB: The Alberta Teachers Association, 35.
42. McCloskey, G.N., O.S.A., Knowledge of Place as part of a Curriculum for Ecological Studies. Earth Ethics 9 (1&2) Fall/Winter, (1997/98), 33-35; Curricular Reform for Spirituality and Sustainability, Earth Ethics 8 (1) Fall, (1996), 22-21/23; Thomas Berry in Italy: Relationship, Place & Story in Thomas Berry in Italy: Reflections on spirituality and sustainability, Washington, DC: Pacem in Terris Press, 49-53, 2016; and, Reflective thinking about place as part of a curriculum for ecological studies in Ibid., 2016, 87-96.
43. McNeil, J. (2020) Lurking: How a Person Became a User. New York: MCD Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Table of Contents.
44. Merton, T. (1985) “Letter to Pope John XXIII” (November 10, 1958), in The Hidden Ground of Love: Letters, ed. William H. Shannon (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, l985), 482.
45. Moore, G.E. (1965) “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits,” Electronics (April 19), 114–117.
46. Newport, C. (2016) Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. London: Piatkus, 3.
47. Pahomov, L. (2014) Authentic Learning in the Digital Age: Engaging Students Through Inquiry. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 109.
48. Powers, W. (2010) Hamlet’s Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. New York: Harper, 223 ff.
49. Provenzo, E.F, Jr., Brett, A., and McCloskey, G.N., O.S.A.. (2005) Computers, Curriculum and Cultural Change: An Introduction for Teachers (2nd Edition). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
50. Associates. Also, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates published the 1st edition in 1999.
51. Quicke, G. (2015) "Come Love With Me": Augustine As Spiritual Guide. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, xi.
52. Saint Augustine. City of God, XI, 26. This translation is from City of God, trans. Gerald G. Walsh, S.J., Demetrius B. Zema, S.J., Grace Monahan, O.S.A., and Daniel J. Honan. Vernon J. Bourke (ed.) (1958) New York: Doubleday (Image Books).
53. ___________ Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love, 18, 68. This is a quoting of Sirach 27:6.
54. Schultze, Q.J. (2002) Habits of a High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Academic.
55. ___________ Schultze, Q.J., op. cit. 117-118.; 18; 94
56. Scott, M. (2009) The Eucharist and Social Justice. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 6.
57. See, Alter, A. (2017) Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. New York: Penguin Books, 1-10.
58. Seligman, M.E.P. (2011) Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free Press, 16.
59. Taft, M.W. (2015) The Mindful Geek. Kensington, CA: Cephalopod Rex Publishing, 167.
60. The naming comes from DiNucci, D. (1999) "Fragmented Future," Print. 53, No. 4 (July/August), 32.
61. The Semantic Web extends the World Wide Web via the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) standards.
62. This notion of “brave heart” extends work on Augustine and fortitude, in Burt, D.X. (2003) “Let Me Know Myself…” Reflections on Augustine’s for God. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press.
63. This translation is from Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, trans. Robert P. Russell, O.S.A. (1967). Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.
64. This translation is from Of True Religion, trans. J.H.S. Burleigh (1959). South Bend, IN: Gateway Editions. For additional discussions of doubt and limited certainty by Saint Augustine, see also Soliloquies, II, 1, 1; The Happy Life, 7; Answer to the Skeptics, III, 9, 18-19; Free Choice of the Will, I, 7, 16; and II, 3, 7; The Trinity, XV, 11, 21; and Teaching Christianity, IV, 11, 26)
65. This translation is from Saint Augustine, Of True Religion, trans. J.H.S. Burleigh (1959). South Bend, IN: Gateway Editions. Other quotations from Saint Augustine in this essay come from The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (New City Press) with permission of the Augustinian Heritage Institute. In some cases, the translations are formulations of this author. There are citations for any other sources. Also, sometimes there are small changes like “person” for “man” or “people” for “men.”
66. This translation is from The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, trans. David L. Mosher (1982). Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.
67. This translation is from The Rule of Saint Augustine, trans. Robert P. Russell (1976). Villanova, PA: Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova.
68. This translation is from Topping, R.N.S. (2010) St. Augustine. London: Bloomsbury, 46.
69. Townsend, P. (2016) The Dark Side of Technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1.
70. ___________ Townsend, P., op. cit., 230-231 Williams, R. (2016) On Augustine. London: Bloomsbury, 11.
71. ___________ (2018) Christ the Heart of Creation. London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 74.
72. www.meditationinschools.org provides information on some of these endeavors. Retrieval of this information occurred on February 15, 2019, at 10 am E.S.T.
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