A University Is Using a Dead Professor to Teach an Online Class – Futurism

Beyond the Grave

Aaron Ansuini, a student at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada made a shocking discovery: He found that his art history professor wasnt alive anymore.

HI EXCUSE ME, Ansuini wrote in a tweet, I just found out the the prof for this online course Im taking *died in 2019* and hes technically still giving classes since hes *literally my prof for this course* and Im learning from lectures recorded before his passing.

I mean, I guess I technically read texts written by people whove passed all the time, he continued, but its the fact that I looked up his email to send him a question and PULLED UP HIS MEMORIAM INSTEAD that just THREW ME OFF A LITTLE.

Concordia University confirmed to Slate that professor Franois-Marc Gagnon, a lecturer in the universitys art history department, did indeed pass in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

His lectures, however, live on in Concordias online course catalog and are used for a dedicated online course. The class is technically being led by a different professor and two teaching assistants, with Gagnons recordings being used as a teaching tool, according to Slate.

Musicians recordings are frequently released after they die. Social media data often outlives its account holders as well. But the phenomenon is less common in higher education.

The incident also sheds light on the difficulties of learning online during COVID a phenomenon thats upending all sorts of social norms.

READ MORE: How a Dead Professor Is Teaching a University Art History Class [Slate]

More on online learning: Scientists Predict the Pandemic Will Set Students Back for Years

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A University Is Using a Dead Professor to Teach an Online Class - Futurism