Midjourney, the 'death' of art, and its impact on language education in a postdigital perspective

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55028/edutec.v6i1.25053

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, Language education, Postdigital age, Digital colonialism, Meaning making

Abstract

This article examines the controversies surrounding the use of generative artificial intelligence in artistic production, focusing on the image Théâtre d’opéra spatial, created via Midjourney, and its broader implications for language education in a postdigital context. It investigates the tensions raised by claims of the “death of art” and explores how AI challenges conventional understandings of authorship, creativity, and artistic legitimacy. The study aims to analyze the discursive, ideological, and epistemological dimensions embedded in AI-generated content and their influence on educational practices. Adopting a critical hermeneutic orientation grounded in poststructuralist, Bakhtinian, and postdigital theoretical frameworks, the article reflects on language, discourse, digital literacies, and digital colonialism. The analysis reveals that debates on AI in art and education involve not only technological innovation but also disputes over power relations, epistemic hierarchies, and meaning-making processes. The discussion demonstrates that AI technologies operate within broader structures of digital capitalism and coloniality, reinforcing social inequalities related to language, race, gender, and access to knowledge. In the field of language education, the article advocates for a critical pedagogical stance that promotes discursive awareness, ethical engagement, and the interrogation of implicit language policies present in AI adoption. It concludes that language education plays a key role in fostering students’ critical agency, enabling them to reflect on and respond to the sociocultural and ideological forces shaping digital technologies.

Author Biographies

  • Luciana Parnaíba de Castro, Federal University of Campina Grande, Cajazeiras, PB, Brazil

    I hold a PhD from the Postgraduate Program in Linguistic and Literary Studies in English (PPGELLI/FFLCH-USP), with a fellowship as a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, funded by the Print/Capes Program. I have a Master's degree in Language and Teaching from the Federal University of Campina Grande and a Teaching degree in Languages and Literature (Portuguese and English) from the Federal University of Campina Grande. I am a professor at the Languages and Literature Department at the Center for Teacher Education at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UAL/CFP/UFCG). I am a member of the GEELLE study group (USP). My research interests include: language education, language teacher education, and (multi)literacies.

  • Lucas Gustavo do Nascimento Rigonato, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    I am a language educator and a doctoral candidate in English Linguistic and Literary Studies at the University of São Paulo (USP). My doctoral research adopts an autoethnographic approach to examine the relationships among body, subjectivity, normativity, and language education. I hold a Teaching degree in English Language and Literature, a specialization in Applied Linguistics, and a Master's degree in Linguistics and Literature from the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). I was a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at The Catholic University of America (2015–2016), where I taught Portuguese and participated in intercultural language education initiatives. My professional work spans English language teaching, teacher education, curriculum development, and materials design. I am a member of GEELLE (Research Group on Language Education in Foreign Languages) and the National Literacies Project (PNL). My research interests include autoethnography, language education, critical epistemologies, discourse, memory, the body, and processes of subjectivation.

  • Ticiane Rafaela de Andrade Moreno, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Federal Institute of São Paulo, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

    I hold a Teaching degree in Portuguese and English Language and Literature from the State University of Northern Paraná (UENP/Jacarezinho) and a Bachelor's degree in Pedagogy from the Metropolitan University of Santos (UNIMES). Currently, I am a member of the GEELLE Research Group - Study Group on Language Education in Foreign Languages ​​(2022 - ) at USP. I have a specialization in Foreign Language Teaching from UEL; my thesis research focused on foreign language teaching for children and the analysis of textbook-based teaching systems. I hold a Master's degree in Language Studies from UEL, where I conducted research on representations of the political action of English language teachers for children from the perspective of Critical Pedagogy. I am a doctoral candidate in the "Linguistic and Literary Studies in English" program at USP. My research focuses on an autoethnography of Critical-Affective Education practices in English with children. I have taught English and Portuguese to various educational levels in both public and private settings at the basic education level – from early childhood education to high school. Currently, I am a professor of Portuguese, English, and language teaching at IFSP - Sorocaba campus, where I work with integrated high school courses and teacher education programs. I have coordinated and organized events at the institution, as well as teaching and outreach projects in the areas of literacy, critical literacy, literary literacy, marginal literacies, and gender and sexuality.

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Published

2026-06-18

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Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026): Rolling pass

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Scholarly articles

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How to Cite

CASTRO, Luciana Parnaíba de; RIGONATO, Lucas Gustavo do Nascimento; MORENO, Ticiane Rafaela de Andrade. Midjourney, the ’death’ of art, and its impact on language education in a postdigital perspective. Edutec - Education, Digital Technologies, and Teacher Education, [S. l.], v. 6, n. 1, 2026. DOI: 10.55028/edutec.v6i1.25053. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufms.br/index.php/EduTec/article/view/25053. Acesso em: 26 jun. 2026.
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