BLM and CML: Is There A Connection?
Biographical Sketch
Bill Yousman earned his doctorate in Communication from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His area of focus is Media Studies. He is the former Managing Director of the Media Education Foundation and the current Director of the Graduate Program in Media Literacy and Digital Culture at Sacred Heart University, where he is an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Media Arts. Bill’s research focuses on media literacy education and the construction of racial ideologies in media images and narratives. He has published numerous essays in peer-reviewed journals and anthologies. His first book, Prime Time Prisons on U.S. Television: Representation of Incarceration, was published in 2009. His most recent book is The Spike Lee Enigma: Challenge and Incorporation in Media Culture (2014).
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
In this paper I explore whether Blacks Live Matter may be considered a critical media literacy intervention or whether this is a false articulation between pedagogy and social justice action.
Abstract of Proposal
In 2012, the murderer of African American teenager Trayvon Martin, was found not guilty by a Florida jury. In the wake of this acquittal the organization #BlackLivesMatter was formed, initially on social media. While Black Lives Matter is a peaceful protest movement, many voices on the political right and in the corporate media have framed it as a violent, even terrorist, organization. In this paper, I explore the connections between critical pedagogy, critical media literacy, and the Black Lives Matter movement. And I question whether critical movements in education and media studies may be organically related to social justice movements outside of academic settings, or whether there is a false articulation between theory and practice suggested by the argument that #BlackLivesMatter may be considered a critical media literacy intervention.
Location
Coastal Georgia Center
Start Date
2-25-2017 9:50 AM
End Date
2-25-2017 11:20 AM
Recommended Citation
Yousman, Bill, "BLM and CML: Is There A Connection?" (2017). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 6.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2017/2017/6
BLM and CML: Is There A Connection?
Coastal Georgia Center
In 2012, the murderer of African American teenager Trayvon Martin, was found not guilty by a Florida jury. In the wake of this acquittal the organization #BlackLivesMatter was formed, initially on social media. While Black Lives Matter is a peaceful protest movement, many voices on the political right and in the corporate media have framed it as a violent, even terrorist, organization. In this paper, I explore the connections between critical pedagogy, critical media literacy, and the Black Lives Matter movement. And I question whether critical movements in education and media studies may be organically related to social justice movements outside of academic settings, or whether there is a false articulation between theory and practice suggested by the argument that #BlackLivesMatter may be considered a critical media literacy intervention.
