![John Naughton portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/John_Naughton_portrait.jpg)
John Naughton (born 18 July 1946) is an Irish academic, journalist and author. He is a senior research fellow in the
Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
, Director of the Press Fellowship Programme at
Wolfson College, Cambridge
Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...
,
Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology at the British
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
,
adjunct professor at
University College, Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
and the Technology columnist of the London
''Observer'' newspaper.
Personal background
John Naughton was born in 1946 in
Ballina, County Mayo
Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town ...
. He was educated at
University College, Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...
, and at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, UK. He now lives and works in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, UK.
Intellectual background
Starting as an electrical engineer who worked in systems modelling and analysis, Naughton subsequently developed an interest in the public understanding of technology and—later—in the social, political, and cultural impact of
internet technology.
Academic career
The Open University
Naughton joined the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
as a lecturer in Systems in 1972. He has made contributions (see e.g.
) to the understanding and application of
Soft Systems Analysis developed by
Peter Checkland
Peter Checkland (born 18 December 1930, in Birmingham, UK) is a British management scientist and emeritus professor of systems at Lancaster University. He is the developer of soft systems methodology (SSM): a methodology based on a way of syste ...
at Lancaster University.
In addition to his work in systems analysis Naughton also made significant contributions to the public understanding of technology, initially as co-designer (with Professor
Nigel Cross
Nigel Cross (born 1942) is a British academic, a design researcher and educator, Emeritus Professor of Design Studies at The Open University, United Kingdom, where he was responsible for developing the first distance-learning courses in design in t ...
) of two incarnations of the University's Technology Foundation Course (T101 & T102) which, over its lifetime, introduced over 50,000 students to technological ideas.
In the 1980s he was a key member of the team that introduced the use of personal computers into the University's teaching and learning system. In the 1990s, with colleagues Martin Weller and Garry Alexander, Naughton created the University's first major online course (''You, your computer and the Net'') which attracted 12,000 students per presentation in its early days and marked the beginning of the University's rise as a major provider of online education. (It now has approximately 250,000 online students.)
In 2001 he set up the University's ''Relevant Knowledge'' programme—a suite of short online courses on topical technological issues and was Director of the programme until 2009.
Naughton was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1980 and became Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology in July 2002.
He retired from the Open University in 2011 and was appointed Emeritus Professor.
Other academic activities
In 1991, Naughton was elected a Fellow of
Wolfson College, Cambridge
Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...
and in 1996 became Director of the college's Press Fellowship Programme, which brings journalists in mid-career from all over the world to Cambridge for a term to research a project of their own supervision. To date, the Programme has welcomed over 310 journalists from 46 countries.
In 2008, he was appointed Academic Adviser to the Arcadia Project at Cambridge University Library. This was a project, sponsored by the Arcadia Fund, to explore the role of the academic library in a digital age. The project ran from 2008 to 2012 and supported 19 Arcadia Fellows and their associated projects.
He was Vice-President of Wolfson College, Cambridge from 2011 to 2015.
Current research
In collaboration with
Professor Sir Richard Evans and
Dr David Runciman, Naughton is a Principal Investigator on a five-year research project on 'Conspiracy and Democracy' funded by the
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...
. He is also co-Director (with Professor David Runciman) of the 'Technology and Democracy' project in the Cambridge Centre for Digital Knowledge
Both projects are based i
CRASSH(the
Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities) at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
. Naughton is chair of the advisory board of Cambridge's
Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy Naughton is also a member of the Steering Group of the University's Strategic Research Initiative on Big Data.
Journalistic career
In the early 1970s, Naughton wrote for the political and cultural weekly, the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'', mainly covering scientific issues.
Between 1982 and 1987 he was Television Critic of ''
The Listener'', a weekly magazine published by the BBC which ceased publication in 1991.
In 1987 he succeeded the novelist Julian Barnes as Television Critic of the London ''
Observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Computer science and information theory
* In information theory, any system which receives information from an object
* State observer in co ...
'', and held that post until mid-1995. During that time he won the 'Critic of the Year' award three times. He now writes the ''Observer'' 'Networker' column.
Other activities
Naughton is a regular keynote speaker,
a blogger and a photographer.
Recent publications
Naughton's most recent book is ''From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: What You Really Need to Know About the Internet'' (Quercus Books, 2012).
An earlier book, ''A Brief History of the Future: Origins of the Internet'',
is an account of the history of the network.
Notes
External links
Inaugural LectureOpen University Systems Department WebsiteJohn Naughton's Online DiaryNaughton's contributionsat ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naughton, John
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Academics of the Open University
Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge
1946 births
Living people