Community Information

Community Duration: Spring 2025

Meeting Schedule, Modality & Location: 

• Friday, January 31, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (in-person in Olscamp 106)
• Friday, February 14, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (online via Zoom)
• Friday, February 28, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (online via Zoom)
• Friday, March 14, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (online via Zoom)
• Friday, April 11, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (in-person in Olscamp 106)

Community Participants:

All BGSU faculty, adjunct instructors, graduate students, and staff are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

Community Description:

In this community of practice, we will explore generative AI tools such as Midjourney, Claude, and ChatGPT and how their use and circulation produces visual and textual realities. Through a feminist pedagogy and research-driven praxis, we will ask if AI can and should be integrated into classroom practices. If we do use these – or even if we do not – how does the very existence of and the easy access to such tools compel us to reconsider what a classroom is and what sorts of classroom practices need to be developed in response.

The community's goal is to cultivate informed citizens who not only explore and experiment in the how of the use of generative AI tools but also to critically engage with the so what—the broader (environmental and ethical) implications of their use. Open to all BGSU faculty, staff, and graduate students, this initiative also strives to be community-oriented. By embracing a praxis-centered approach to research—the community aims to foster collaborative inquiry into the increasingly AI-driven environment we inhabit while critically engaging the concerns around its use and misuse.

Participants will develop a nuanced, critical understanding of what it means to engage with generative AI through the lens of critical humanities, with a focus on the ethical, cultural, and social dimensions of these technologies.

Community Learning Outcomes:

By participating in this community, you will be able to:

• Critically engage and use generative AI tools (e.g., Midjourney, Claude, ChatGPT) to see how they produce images and texts.
• Implement generative AI tools in classroom settings to design learning activities that emphasize intersections of gender, culture, and technology.
• Identify ethical, cultural, and social implications of AI-driven media, reflecting on how these technologies impact the physical world around us (by consuming natural resources in excess, for instance) and also shape/influence societal narratives.
• Create inclusive, research-informed practices that foster critical digital literacy, informing participants to use AI tools thoughtfully and responsibly in educational and community settings.

Participant Expectations:

As a member of this community, you are expected to:

• Work toward achieving the community's learning outcomes.
• Actively participate and attend at least 80% of the scheduled meetings.
• Complete assigned deliverables and tasks as outlined by the facilitators.
• Arrive prepared with reading notes from the assigned readings, enabling collaborative engagement and meaningful brainstorming during community meetings.