Dilemma, guilt etc

Of course, I should have expected that I'd be asked to continue teaching. I received a call this morning and the regular lecturer is unable to return for the next two classes which brings us up to the semester break. I took the teaching on in a moment of spontaneity and impulsiveness but was clear that I could do no more than three weeks of teaching. Now that the time has come to respond to the request to do more teaching, I feel terribly guilty. I don't want to let the students down but I really don't think I can manage more teaching. It's the preparation time involved in each class, particularly in the lecture. I've suggested that the Program Coordinator look for a guest lecturer for each of the two weeks remaining before the break. I hope this works out.

The readings for this week are Heidegger's, "The Question Concerning Technology" and Paul Virilio's "The Information Bomb". I was hoping to get on to looking at some more recent theories of technology and society like social constructivism/social shaping. I think there is too much weight on the substantive theory. However, the case study of the smart card that I introduced last week stimulated many interesting questions, not least, the notion that the smart card is not necessarily something that is pre-determined and inevitable. This leads directly to a consideration of the social constuctivist aspect of technology. Perhaps I'll start off with this in my lecture tomorrow.