Critical Media Literacy: Developing a New Lens to View the World and Ourselves
Biographical Sketch
Angela Pack is an assistant professor of early childhood education at Hudson County Community College as well as a doctoral candidate at Montclair State University in the Teacher Education and Teacher Development program. Her research interests are critical literacy and social justice in teacher education and early childhood classrooms.
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
This presentation will share the findings of an Exploring Multicultural Studies class that embedded critical literacy throughout the semester. This study was conducted at an urban community college with 10 undergraduate students and an education faculty member. They engaged in various critical literacy activities throughout the semester where they contemplated, discussed, and utilized critical literacy. They analyzed movies, ads, and other forms of media literacy. The presentation will document the findings of the study.
Abstract of Proposal
Being critical of literacy is more than decoding and understanding literacy; it is interrogating and making meaning of all texts in terms of power (Freire, 1972). When people create media literacy, they narrate them from their own personal perspective, based upon their role in the economic and racial hierarchy that exists in society. These media literacies include the Internet, advertisements, commercials, television, movies, images, movement, music, and any other forms of communication.
In order to understand critical literacy and utilize critical thought when digestion media literacy it is important for students to have multiple opportunities to contemplate, discuss, and utilize critical literacy throughout the semester. Students need to look at the historical and current affects of media literacy on society and their understanding of self, and others.
This study documents 10 undergraduate students experience of taking a Multicultural Studies class, which had numerous opportunities for students to contemplate critical literacy throughout the semester. The class looked at the impact of the media on various groups of people throughout history as well as in current society. They spent time discussing how the media affirms stereotypes and perpetuates the culture of rape and criminalization of the African American male.
Through sharing the findings and implications from the study, the principal investigator hopes to engage in meaningful discourse and sharing of ideas with other educators and researchers as well as inspiring college educators to contemplate embedding numerous opportunities for students to contemplate, discuss, and utilize critical literacy in college diversity classes.
Start Date
2-24-2018 1:10 PM
End Date
2-24-2018 2:40 PM
Recommended Citation
Pack, Angela F., "Critical Media Literacy: Developing a New Lens to View the World and Ourselves" (2018). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 38.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2018/2018/38
Critical Media Literacy: Developing a New Lens to View the World and Ourselves
Being critical of literacy is more than decoding and understanding literacy; it is interrogating and making meaning of all texts in terms of power (Freire, 1972). When people create media literacy, they narrate them from their own personal perspective, based upon their role in the economic and racial hierarchy that exists in society. These media literacies include the Internet, advertisements, commercials, television, movies, images, movement, music, and any other forms of communication.
In order to understand critical literacy and utilize critical thought when digestion media literacy it is important for students to have multiple opportunities to contemplate, discuss, and utilize critical literacy throughout the semester. Students need to look at the historical and current affects of media literacy on society and their understanding of self, and others.
This study documents 10 undergraduate students experience of taking a Multicultural Studies class, which had numerous opportunities for students to contemplate critical literacy throughout the semester. The class looked at the impact of the media on various groups of people throughout history as well as in current society. They spent time discussing how the media affirms stereotypes and perpetuates the culture of rape and criminalization of the African American male.
Through sharing the findings and implications from the study, the principal investigator hopes to engage in meaningful discourse and sharing of ideas with other educators and researchers as well as inspiring college educators to contemplate embedding numerous opportunities for students to contemplate, discuss, and utilize critical literacy in college diversity classes.
