Media Literacy Fires Back: Object-Oriented Pedagogy in Media Education
Biographical Sketch
Benjamin Thevenin is an Assistant Professor of Media Arts at Brigham Young University. He received his PhD in Media Studies from the University of Colorado. Benjamin’s studies focus on the relationships between youth, media and politics, and in particular, how we can better prepare young people to become thoughtful citizens, consumers and creators of media. At BYU’s TMA department, he teaches classes on creativity, children’s media, new media, and media education. Benjamin also recently led the development of Dark Ride: Disneyland, a mobile game that encourages players to consider how the popular theme park represents history, culture, technology and so forth. Benjamin serves on the Leadership Council for the National Association for Media Literacy Education. He lives with his wife Emily and three boys in the beautiful Wasatch mountains.
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
The presentation describes how object-oriented ontology might provide an alternative philosophical framework for media literacy education, and thus help us more effectively meet the challenges of contemporary culture.
Abstract of Proposal
Last year media scholar danah boyd made waves within the media literacy community when she stated that efforts to promote media literacy have backfired by contributing to a culture of skepticism, best (or worst) demonstrated in the current controversies surrounding ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news.’ Interestingly, a common response from media literacy advocates to boyd’s critique was not that her assessment of contemporary culture was flawed, but that her argument overestimated the effectiveness of media literacy education. Their counter-arguments essentially expressed that the media literacy movement was not to blame because we are still too ineffective in our methods and limited in our reach. At worst, media literacy has backfired, and at best, it isn't making an impact.
The presentation describes how object-oriented ontology might provide an alternative philosophical framework for media literacy education, and thus help us more effectively meet the challenges of contemporary culture. First, the presentation will discuss how existing approaches to media literacy education have drawn upon OOO concepts, such as the emphasis on making (not simply analyzing) things. Then, the presentation will explore the philosophical implications of a OOOMLE, including the de-centering of humans and the meaning-making process from its conception of the world. Next, the presentation will address the pedagogical innovations that OOOMLE will requires, drawing upon examples from my own Contemporary Screens course. And the presentation will conclude describing how OOOMLE might provide some solutions to the challenges described above--namely, how we can promote critical thinking, rather than skepticism, among the public, and how these efforts can be more effective and extensive than in the past.
Location
Session 3D (Habersham, Hilton Garden Inn)
Start Date
2-22-2019 3:00 PM
End Date
2-22-2019 4:30 PM
Recommended Citation
Thevenin, Benjamin, "Media Literacy Fires Back: Object-Oriented Pedagogy in Media Education" (2019). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2019/2019/21
Media Literacy Fires Back: Object-Oriented Pedagogy in Media Education
Session 3D (Habersham, Hilton Garden Inn)
Last year media scholar danah boyd made waves within the media literacy community when she stated that efforts to promote media literacy have backfired by contributing to a culture of skepticism, best (or worst) demonstrated in the current controversies surrounding ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news.’ Interestingly, a common response from media literacy advocates to boyd’s critique was not that her assessment of contemporary culture was flawed, but that her argument overestimated the effectiveness of media literacy education. Their counter-arguments essentially expressed that the media literacy movement was not to blame because we are still too ineffective in our methods and limited in our reach. At worst, media literacy has backfired, and at best, it isn't making an impact.
The presentation describes how object-oriented ontology might provide an alternative philosophical framework for media literacy education, and thus help us more effectively meet the challenges of contemporary culture. First, the presentation will discuss how existing approaches to media literacy education have drawn upon OOO concepts, such as the emphasis on making (not simply analyzing) things. Then, the presentation will explore the philosophical implications of a OOOMLE, including the de-centering of humans and the meaning-making process from its conception of the world. Next, the presentation will address the pedagogical innovations that OOOMLE will requires, drawing upon examples from my own Contemporary Screens course. And the presentation will conclude describing how OOOMLE might provide some solutions to the challenges described above--namely, how we can promote critical thinking, rather than skepticism, among the public, and how these efforts can be more effective and extensive than in the past.
