Countering Neoliberalism through an EcoJustice Approach to Critical Media Studies
Biographical Sketch
Rachelle Marshall is a doctoral student in Eastern Michigan University’s Educational Studies Ph.D. program. She holds an Educational Leadership M.A. in Higher Education General Administration with a certificate in Community College Leadership, a B.S. in Journalism, both from EMU, and an Associate’s Degree in Photographic Technology from Washtenaw Community College. Previously, Rachelle covered school board and municipal meetings as a local freelance newspaper reporter for the Ypsilanti Courier. Rachelle was an intern advisor to the school paper and other student clubs at Schoolcraft College and a marketing communications graduate assistant at EMU. She currently works as an administrative assistant at EMU and volunteers with a non-profit organization in Detroit called the Hush House Museum and Cultural Center.
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
From developing innovative programs for independent grassroots organizations to teaching general education courses at a university, this presentation promotes “information literacy” outcomes at all levels of learning. The presenter will use PowerPoint slides to define EcoJustice, explore related theories, provide example activities, discuss the importance of critical media literacy, and describe how critical media studies can accomplish goals of EcoJustice education. This paper aims to enrich understanding of media in the neoliberal era through a review of relevant critical literature.
Abstract of Proposal
“Countering Neoliberalism through an EcoJustice Approach to Critical Media Literacy” examines the crucial role of media in addressing the cultural crisis of neoliberalism that is the root of ongoing social and ecological problems. An EcoJustice Education framework conceives of two strands of inquiry and action emphasizing interdependency and interconnectedness in its approach to teacher education: 1) “a cultural ecological analysis of the roots of social and ecological violence” and 2) “revitalizing the commons through care ethics and pedagogies of responsibility” (Martusewich & Johnson, 2016). The goal of EcoJustice-based media literacy is to empower teachers and students to become producers and informed consumers of media. Through the EcoJustice lens, teachers and students are positioned as active citizens rather than passive consumers. EcoJustice media literacy studies promote self-determination by providing opportunities for students to create authentic representations of themselves while simultaneously cultivating critical thinking and practicing civic skills. EcoJustice-based media studies can be taught to all age groups, within formal and informal educational environments. To begin to solve our countless social and ecological problems, locally and globally, we must learn to use media to amplify counter-narratives in a collective effort to quell the harmful dominant discourses of neoliberal modernity. The structures of school and media can work together under a unified, alternative paradigm of EcoJustice to counter the dominant neoliberal hegemony, through concerted public education. EcoJustice as an alternative to neoliberalism argues for developing media literacy in an effort to promote full, participatory democracy and to save the planet.
Martusewicz, R. & Johnson, L. (2016). “Chapter 5: EcoJustice Education.” In van der Tuin, I. Editor, Gender: Nature (pp. 57-71). Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, Gale Cengage Learning.
Location
Room 217
Start Date
2-24-2018 9:50 AM
End Date
2-24-2018 11:20 AM
Recommended Citation
Marshall, Rachelle, "Countering Neoliberalism through an EcoJustice Approach to Critical Media Studies" (2018). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 3.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2018/2018/3
Countering Neoliberalism through an EcoJustice Approach to Critical Media Studies
Room 217
“Countering Neoliberalism through an EcoJustice Approach to Critical Media Literacy” examines the crucial role of media in addressing the cultural crisis of neoliberalism that is the root of ongoing social and ecological problems. An EcoJustice Education framework conceives of two strands of inquiry and action emphasizing interdependency and interconnectedness in its approach to teacher education: 1) “a cultural ecological analysis of the roots of social and ecological violence” and 2) “revitalizing the commons through care ethics and pedagogies of responsibility” (Martusewich & Johnson, 2016). The goal of EcoJustice-based media literacy is to empower teachers and students to become producers and informed consumers of media. Through the EcoJustice lens, teachers and students are positioned as active citizens rather than passive consumers. EcoJustice media literacy studies promote self-determination by providing opportunities for students to create authentic representations of themselves while simultaneously cultivating critical thinking and practicing civic skills. EcoJustice-based media studies can be taught to all age groups, within formal and informal educational environments. To begin to solve our countless social and ecological problems, locally and globally, we must learn to use media to amplify counter-narratives in a collective effort to quell the harmful dominant discourses of neoliberal modernity. The structures of school and media can work together under a unified, alternative paradigm of EcoJustice to counter the dominant neoliberal hegemony, through concerted public education. EcoJustice as an alternative to neoliberalism argues for developing media literacy in an effort to promote full, participatory democracy and to save the planet.
Martusewicz, R. & Johnson, L. (2016). “Chapter 5: EcoJustice Education.” In van der Tuin, I. Editor, Gender: Nature (pp. 57-71). Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, Gale Cengage Learning.
