Abstract
I present a project to develop an open-source app encouraging study abroad students to explore, document, and engage with their surroundings on foot. The app fosters intercultural understanding and knowledge co-creation, enabling students to record videos, photos, voice memos, and notes. By revisiting this data in post-study sessions, participants deepen their reflections and insights. Drawing on methodologies like Félix Guattari’s ecosophy, semiotics, translanguaging, and Célestin Freinet’s la classe-promenade, the AI-led app integrates curated insights from local students, interactive quizzes for “learning walks,” and QR code-linked resources. This initiative addresses Bernard Stiegler’s concept of “generalized proletarianization,” combating the erosion of personal knowledge by promoting reflective, context-sensitive engagement over algorithmic mediation. Current AI systems often standardize language and marginalize minority idioms, risking cultural homogenization and ecological fragility. By contrast, this app prioritizes linguistic pluralism, celebrating diverse voices and dynamic language practices. Through collaborative, peer-driven technology, the app challenges the reductive effects of AI-driven standardization, nurturing environmental, mental, and social ecologies. It advocates for socio-technical infrastructures that protect cultural and linguistic diversity, ensuring freedom of thought and expression in an increasingly uniform digital landscape.
Presenters
Joff P. N.Bradley BradleyProfessor of English and Philosophy, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Teikyo University Tokyo, Japan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
App Stiegler Guattari Freinet Study abroad
