Signature of Attention: Historical Ambiguities and Elisions in Contemporary Psychological Framings of Attending.
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| Title: | Signature of Attention: Historical Ambiguities and Elisions in Contemporary Psychological Framings of Attending. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Saari, Antti1 (AUTHOR) antti.saari@tuni.fi, Baker, Bernadette M.2 (AUTHOR) bbaker@education.wisc.edu |
| Source: | Educational Theory. Oct2025, Vol. 75 Issue 5, p936-961. 26p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Attention, *Scholarly method, Spirituality, Other (Philosophy), Historical analysis, Psychology, Monastic life |
| Abstract: | In contemporary contexts of digitalization, proliferating media, and generative AI, various "life hacks" are regularly recommended to disconnect and resist distraction, ranging from meditation to getting back to nature to unplugging. This paper traces contemporary concerns over "the attention crisis" into a longer signature — the frequently elided field of signification today referred to as "spiritual," a signature which links attention to theories of deep personal transformation and technologies of the self. First, we examine historiographical issues arising in studies related to the contemporary attention crisis, exposing the challenges of attending to attending. Second, we delineate how European‐based Christian monasticism developed practices for disciplining "attention" in new institutional settings. We argue that this process was simultaneously bound to projections of Othering and to the cultivation of critical attitudes. In particular, we delineate how these medieval forms of Othering (in both "spiritualist" and "demographic" terms) were involved in practices of vigilance and attending that became indelibly etched in Christian empire‐building through governing souls and violent persecutions. Tracing these genealogical trajectories retrieves recent elisions of the complexities in problematizing attention. We suggest that contemporary ways of thinking about and acting on an "attention crisis" in education are still marked by signatures of spirituality and their allied binaries, Othering logics, and ambiguities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Educational Theory is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 187818810 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Signature of Attention: Historical Ambiguities and Elisions in Contemporary Psychological Framings of Attending. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Saari%2C+Antti%22">Saari, Antti</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> antti.saari@tuni.fi</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Baker%2C+Bernadette+M%2E%22">Baker, Bernadette M.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> bbaker@education.wisc.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Educational+Theory%22">Educational Theory</searchLink>. Oct2025, Vol. 75 Issue 5, p936-961. 26p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attention%22">Attention</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scholarly+method%22">Scholarly method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spirituality%22">Spirituality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Other+%28Philosophy%29%22">Other (Philosophy)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Historical+analysis%22">Historical analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology%22">Psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Monastic+life%22">Monastic life</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In contemporary contexts of digitalization, proliferating media, and generative AI, various "life hacks" are regularly recommended to disconnect and resist distraction, ranging from meditation to getting back to nature to unplugging. This paper traces contemporary concerns over "the attention crisis" into a longer signature — the frequently elided field of signification today referred to as "spiritual," a signature which links attention to theories of deep personal transformation and technologies of the self. First, we examine historiographical issues arising in studies related to the contemporary attention crisis, exposing the challenges of attending to attending. Second, we delineate how European‐based Christian monasticism developed practices for disciplining "attention" in new institutional settings. We argue that this process was simultaneously bound to projections of Othering and to the cultivation of critical attitudes. In particular, we delineate how these medieval forms of Othering (in both "spiritualist" and "demographic" terms) were involved in practices of vigilance and attending that became indelibly etched in Christian empire‐building through governing souls and violent persecutions. Tracing these genealogical trajectories retrieves recent elisions of the complexities in problematizing attention. We suggest that contemporary ways of thinking about and acting on an "attention crisis" in education are still marked by signatures of spirituality and their allied binaries, Othering logics, and ambiguities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Educational Theory is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=187818810 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/edth.70031 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 26 StartPage: 936 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Attention Type: general – SubjectFull: Scholarly method Type: general – SubjectFull: Spirituality Type: general – SubjectFull: Other (Philosophy) Type: general – SubjectFull: Historical analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychology Type: general – SubjectFull: Monastic life Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Signature of Attention: Historical Ambiguities and Elisions in Contemporary Psychological Framings of Attending. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Saari, Antti – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Baker, Bernadette M. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 10 Text: Oct2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00132004 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 75 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Educational Theory Type: main |
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