1st Edition

Making Media Matter Critical Literacy, Popular Culture, and Creative Production

By Benjamin Thevenin Copyright 2022
    268 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    268 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book is an essential resource for media educators working to promote critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement through their teaching. Connecting theory and research with creative projects and analyses of pop culture, it models an integrated and practical approach to media education.

    In order to prepare learners to successfully navigate rapid shifts in digital technology and popular culture, media educators in both secondary and university settings need to develop fresh, innovative approaches. Integrating concepts and practices from the fields of media studies, media arts, and media literacy, this book prepares teachers to help their students make connections between their studies, uses of media, creative expression, and political participation. As educators implement the strategies in this book in their curricula and pedagogy, they will be empowered to help their students more thoughtfully engage with media culture and use their intelligence and imagination to address pressing challenges facing our world today.

    Making Media Matter is an engaging and accessible read for educators and scholars in the areas of media literacy, media and cultural studies, media arts, and communication studies.

    The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

    Introduction, 1. Integrating Media Studies, Media Arts and Media Literacy Education, 2. Teaching and Learning in a New Media Age, 3. Processing Pop Culture, 4. Critically Engaging, 5. Authoring Identity, 6. Creating Community, 7. Celebrating Diversity, 8. Playing with Place, 9. Valuing the Arts  Conclusion: Developing an Integrated Model for Media Engagement

    Biography

    Benjamin Thevenin is an Associate Professor at Brigham Young University’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts. His studies focus on the relationships between youth, media, and civic engagement; particularly, how we can better prepare young people to become thoughtful citizens, consumers, and creators of media. He teaches classes on creativity, children’s culture, emerging media, and media literacy.

    "Benjamin Thevenin is a leading voice in media education, creative practice and critical production. His book takes readers on an engaging journey, rich with examples, reflections and cases that expand the potential of media education to build agency and collective action to daily life. Educators, practitioners, community stakeholders and policy makers should read this book, and re-imagine how they understand community, creativity, and equity in our immersive digital culture."

    Paul Mihailidis, Professor of Civic Media and Journalism, Emerson College, USA

    "No mere textbook, Making Media Matter lays the foundations for a more empowered approach to media literacy, urging readers to question, reimagine, and remix popular culture. Thevenin’s original readings of diverse texts and practices, his nuanced explications of core theories and his imaginative exercises are coupled with a commitment to building a more inclusive culture."

    Henry Jenkins, Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education, University of Southern California, USA

    "This is a book that will keep your media courses humming and help you connect the dots between media studies, media arts, and media literacy education. Inspired by a wide range of texts, including films, social media, music videos, video games, journalism, literature and poetry, the book offers relevant, engaging and thought-provoking learning activities suitable for a variety of learning contexts. Professor Thevenin amply demonstrates how undergraduate learning experiences can be designed to position media literacy education as the new humanities."

    Renee Hobbs, Professor of Communication Studies, University of Rhode Island, USA