Framed by a consideration of Paulo Freire’s critical perspectives on technology, marginalisation and education as a liberating force, this interactive online seminar will explore the urgent need for a critical, post pandemic reframing of digitally-enabled education in the context of higher education as a public good. Drawing up on their own their recent and ongoing research focused on the concept of the digital university (Johnston, MacNeill and Smyth, 2019) the presenters will lead the seminar’s participants in reflecting on what can be learned from the pandemic if we want to challenge dominant neoliberal practices, and develop more hopeful and equitable post pandemic approaches to education and our use of digital technologies and spaces for learning and teaching.

The presenters will also articulate their own pragmatic response to the above, through exploring their model of the Digitally Distributed Curriculum which is centred around the values of praxis, public pedagogy and participation (Johnston, MacNeill and Smyth, 2021).