Cathy N. Davidson (born 1949) is an American scholar and university professor. Beginning July 1, 2014, she is a professor at the
Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
She was a professor of English at
Duke University in 2006. She has authored or edited 18 books. Her work focuses on technology, collaboration, cognition, learning, and the digital age.
Early life and education
Davidson was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, received a B.A. from
Elmhurst College
Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July 1, 2020.
Hist ...
, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
Binghamton University, and did postdoctoral studies at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. She has received honorary doctorates from Elmhurst College and
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
.
Career
Davidson was a professor of English at
Michigan State University. She served as vice provost for Interdisciplinary Studies at
Duke University from 1998 to 2006, with administrative responsibility for over 60 research programs in Duke's nine academic and professional schools. She was responsible for designing technologies for research, teaching, and learning, and in 1999 helped create ISIS, the program in Information Science + Information Studies at Duke.
In 2002, Davidson co-founded with
David Theo Goldberg
David Theo Goldberg (born January 8, 1952) is a South African professor working in the United States, known for his work in critical race theory, the digital humanities, and the state of the university.
Goldberg was born and raised in South Africa ...
the virtual organization Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory
HASTAC
HASTAC (/ˈhāˌstak/'), also known as the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory, is a virtual organization and platform of more than 18,000 individuals and 400+ affiliate-institutions dedicated to innovative new mod ...
, an international organization dedicated to rethinking the future of learning for the information age.
In 2003, Davidson initiated a program at Duke, in conjunction with
Apple Computer, to give free
iPods to each member of the incoming class with no other requirements. This sparked harsh criticism and ridicule from the academic community and news media.
The program was viewed as a success by Duke since it led to new applications for the iPod in an educational environment and inspired a new initiative among Duke students to innovate and collaborate.
During the
2006 Duke University lacrosse case, Davidson and 87 other Duke faculty members, sometimes referred to as the "
Group of 88 The Group of 88 is the term for those professors at Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Du ...
", published an open letter viewed as prejudicial to the three defendants. The letter gained additional prominence when the defense attorney for the lacrosse players requested a change of venue while citing the advertisement as evidence of Duke faculty bias against the players. In response to criticism of the ad, Davidson published a piece in the ''
Raleigh News & Observer
''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...
'' in January 2007. She stated that the ad was a response "to the anguish of students who felt demeaned by racist and sexist remarks swirling around in the media and on the campus quad in the aftermath of what happened on March 13 in the lacrosse house."
[Cathy Davidson, "In the Aftermath of a Social Disaster", '']Raleigh News & Observer
''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...
'', Jan 5, 2007, p. A18.
Quoted in the book Institutional Failures.
In 2010, President Obama nominated her to a six-year term on the
National Council on the Humanities, a position confirmed by the Senate in July 2011. She serves on the Board of Advisors to the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "Digital Media and Learning" book series. A former president of the
American Studies Association
The American Studies Association (ASA) is a scholarly organization founded in 1951. It is the oldest scholarly organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of U.S. culture and history. The ASA works to promote meaningful dialogue about t ...
, she is also a former editor of the journal ''
American Literature''.
In 2012, Davidson and Goldberg received Educators of the Year awards from the
World Technology Network
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
in recognition of "doing the innovative work of 'the greatest likely long-term significance' in their field" of education through their work as co-founders of HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competition. She was named the first educator on the six-person Board of Directors of Mozilla.
In 2016, the
New American Colleges and Universities
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
(NAC&U) awarded Davidson the Ernest L. Boyer Award for significant contributions to American higher education.
Works
Davidson is the author or editor of 18 books. ''Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory'' (a collaboration with documentary photographer Bill Bamberger) was a recipient of the
Mayflower Cup Award for Non-Fiction
''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
. The photographs from ''Closing'' traveled to museums around the U.S. for four years, including the
Smithsonian Museum of American History.
She served as General Editor of the
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
''Early American Women Writers Series'' and, with Ada Norris, edited ''American Indian Stories, Legends and Other Writings by Zitkala-Sa'', the first Penguin Classic devoted to a Native American author.
Her book, ''Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn'' was named by ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' "one of the top ten science books" of the Fall 2011 season". One reviewer from ''The Washington Independent Review of Books'' opined that Davidson "makes the case, through numerous examples and lucid argument, that we can do much better in aligning our schools, our workplaces and our lives, and that this will make us not only more successful as a society but more fulfilled as individuals."
Books
* ''The New College Classroom'' with Christina Katopodis (2022)
* ''The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux'' (2017)
* ''Field Notes for 21st Century Literacies: A Guide to New Theories, Methods, and Practices for Open Peer Teaching and Learning'' (2013)
* ''
Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn'' (2011)
* "The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age" with David Theo Goldberg (2010)
* ''Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory'', with Bill Bamberger (1998)
* ''The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States'' with Linda Wagner-Martin (1995)
* ''The Oxford Book of Women's Writing in the United States'', with Linda Wagner-Martin (1995)
* ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan'' (1993; expanded edition, 2004)
* ''The Book of Love: Writers and Their Love Letters'' (1992)
* ''Reading in America: Literature and Social History'' (1989)
* ''Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America'' (1986; expanded edition 2004)
* ''The Experimental Fictions of
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
: Structuring the Ineffable'' (1984)
* ''Critical Essays on
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
'' (1982)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Cathy
1949 births
Living people
Elmhurst College alumni
Binghamton University alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Michigan State University faculty
Duke University faculty
Writers from Chicago
City University of New York faculty
American women academics
21st-century American women