Should everyone learn anything?: The question of computer literacy

Graduate Ins t i tu te of the the L ibera l Ar ts Emory Un ivers i ty At lanta, Georg ia 30322 In deve lop ing a new area of knowledge, one of the most d i f f i cu l t p rob lems is work ing out a f ramework in te rms of wh ich to de f ine the area. The emerg ing sub jec t of "computer l i te racy " is a case in po in t. What shou ld co l leges and un ivers i t ies teach about computers? And to whom? Rather than beg inn ing w i th such "computer l i te racy " i ssues themse lves, we s tar t w i th the more bas ic quest ion of how educators make any dec is ions about the appropr ia te content and aud ience of h igher educat ion. The quest ion of te leo logy in h igher educat ion is examined in te rms of four conceptua l ca tegor ies: accu l tu ra t ion j economic cons iderat ions, soc ia l mechan isms, and menta l d i sc ip l ine. These four categor ies o f fe r one p laus ib le f ramework for c ra f t ing ra t iona l p rocedures for dec id ing what to teach co l lege s tudents about computers